This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The end of April brought early promotions for two notable Giants prospects. 

Catcher Patrick Bailey, the Giants' 2020 first-round Draft pick, made the jump to Triple-A Sacramento last week, while left-hander Carson Whisenhunt, a 2022 second-rounder, moved up to High-A Eugene.  

Bailey, a 23-year-old switch-hitter, appeared in only 14 games with Double-A Richmond, batting .333 with an .881 OPS and two home runs over 54 at-bats. The Giants’ upper-level catching depth was depleted by the season-ending injury to Roberto Pérez and the release of Austin Wynns, which likely helped expedite Bailey’s path to Sacramento. 

Bailey entered Tuesday 0-for-9 through his first three games with the River Cats, but the Giants believe he’s close to becoming a catching option for the big league club. 

"Patty was really doing good work in Double-A, swinging the bat and playing great defense,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We think he's very close to big league ready as a defensive catcher right now. His at-bat quality has improved. Our coaching staff knows him and trusts him. And anytime you get to Sacramento, you get to Triple-A, you're just a step away from the Major Leagues. It is a bit of an aggressive promotion, but with that we feel like he's capable of handling the challenge."

Joey Bart and Blake Sabol are splitting catching duties for the Giants right now, though it’s not hard to envision Bart and Bailey forming a platoon behind the plate in the near future. Two-time All-Star Gary Sánchez remains an option at Triple-A Sacramento as well, but he hasn’t shown enough to merit a promotion to the big league roster.

Sánchez had a May 1 opt-out day as part of the Minor League deal he signed with the Giants in April, but it’s unclear if he’ll remain with the organization or elect free agency after batting only .164 with one extra-base hit in 55 at-bats at Sacramento.

Whisenhunt, 22, made two appearances with Single-A San Jose last September before returning to the California League for the start of his first full professional season this year. He continued to dominate at San Jose, striking out 20 while posting a 3.29 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. 

Whisenhunt struck out seven and allowed only one hit over four shutout innings for the Giants on April 25, earning a promotion to High-A Eugene the next day. He didn’t miss a beat in his High-A debut with the Emeralds on Sunday, giving up one hit over four scoreless innings while striking out six.