NEW YORK — The Giants, whose record sits at an impressive 9-3, have yet to play 10 percent of their first season under president of baseball operations Buster Posey. That’s not a ton of ball to examine, but that’s not nothing either.
They’ve been competitive in every single game. They’ve found different ways to win, from slugfests to barn burners. They’ve, in short, been one of the best teams in baseball.
Before the Giants begin their gauntlet against the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, here are five early season trends that have defined San Francisco’s season:
Late nights heroes
Of the 12 games that the Giants have played, four of them have been won because of swings in the ninth inning or later.
Wilmer Flores hit the dramatic three-run homer on Opening Day to stun the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Willy Adames flipped a two-run single into right field to win the home opener. Flores had the walk-off single to complete the sweep of the Seattle Mariners, then Mike Yastrzemski hit a walk-off homer into McCovey Cove to complete a five-run comeback against the Reds — a walk-off made possible by Flores’ game-tying homer in the eighth inning.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the Giants have a .922 OPS in high-leverage situations, the second-best mark in all of baseball. If we go to the Extreme Cherry Picking Department, Mike Yastrzemski has the fourth-highest OPS in baseball in high leverage situations among all players, minimum five mere plate appearances. Furthermore, Flores, Yastrzemski and the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts are the only players so far with at least two home runs in high leverage situations.
Adames’ struggles
Despite the aforementioned game-winner, Adames has yet to live up to the billing that comes with being San Francisco’s new $182 million dollar man. His slash line is .184/.241/.224. He’s struck out at least twice in half of his game. Including the postseason, he hasn’t homered in his last 121 plate appearances.
Without diving too far into Adames’ struggles, there are a few things that stand out. His chase rate is up from 28.1% last year to 31.4% this year. He’s also swung at 50.7% of the pitches he’s seen, which would be a career high. His walk rate (7.4%) is down from his career average (9.6%) as well.
The Giants aren’t panicking — Adames isn’t the only batter who has started slow — and the Law of Large Numbers says that Adames will eventually produce. It’s also not uncommon for players to struggle after signing a massive contract and joining a new team (e.g. Manny Machado, Bryce Harper). Yankee Stadium, a venue where he has a .307 batting average and five homers over 29 games, could be the place where he takes off. The question of when Adames turns up his offense, though, remains to be seen.
Go, go, go
In ‘23 and ‘24, no team stole fewer bases — or attempted, for that matter — than the Giants; the steal just wasn’t part of their game. This season, they’ve been far more willing to take the extra base.
San Francisco has stolen 13 bases entering Friday, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the ninth-most in all of baseball. Last season, they didn’t steal their 13th base until the final day of April — and they needed 21 attempts to hit that benchmark, too.
Jung Hoo Lee’s aggressiveness, in particular, has been a welcome development. Last season, Lee only stole two bases in 37 games despite boasting above-average speed. Through 11 games, Lee has already swiped three bags, tied with Tyler Fitzgerald for the team lead. It’s early, but it’s not outlandish to imagine Lee or Fitzgerald becoming the first Giant to steal at least 30 bases in a single season since Dave Roberts in 2007.
Shut it down
Aside from trading left-hander Taylor Rogers, the Giants didn’t do too much with their bullpen this offseason. Of the team’s eight relievers, only Lou Trivino didn’t pitch for the team last year. So far, that faith is being rewarded.
San Francisco’s bullpen has been one of the best in baseball, ranking third in ERA (1.79) and fifth in left-on-base percentage (80.1%). By WAR, the Giants’ bullpen is tied with the Houston Astros for the fourth-most valuable in all of baseball — even with Camilo Doval’s early struggles.
The early standout of the group has been right-hander Randy Rodríguez, who has pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts to no walks. According to FanGraphs, Rodríguez has been the most valuable reliever in baseball so far. Hayden Birdsong’s efforts (seven innings, no runs, six strikeouts) shouldn’t go unnoticed either, especially as he learns the intricacies of relief life.
Maintain the flow
The last three years of Farhan Zaidi’s tenure featured constant roster turnover, the most notable instance being the franchise-record 66 players the Giants used in 2022. Two weeks into Posey’s first season as president of baseball operations, by contrast, and San Francisco has stuck with the same 26 guys who were on the Opening Day roster.
The Giants, of course, will make a roster move eventually. Injuries happen. Players struggle in the majors; players perform in the minors. But with one of baseball’s best records so far, the roster hasn’t been in need of any shuffling.