While the San Francisco Giants fight to stay alive in the playoff race, a rookie has carried the team with an incredible stretch.
San Francisco shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald has been hitting the ball out of the park at a crazy rate, hitting eight home runs in his last eight games. The last Giants player to do that was none other than legendary slugger Barry Bonds back in 2004, per MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Over his last 10 games, Fitzgerald is slashing an absurd .429/.512/1.229 line. San Francisco is now 52-55 on the season and back under five games out from a Wild Card berth.
He’s come out of nowhere this season to fill a huge need in the infield. He had been a utility man, but has been given the reins at shortstop over the past week.
The 26-year-old made his MLB debut last campaign in a short stint. He slashed .219/.265/.469 with two home runs and five RBI in 10 games.
He wasn’t a power hitter in college, but has flashed some serious power in the minor leagues since being drafted. Still, no one could have expected him to have the stretch that he has had.
The position of shortstop has been an interesting journey for the Giants this year. If Fitzgerald can finish the season out for them, it would be a huge problem fixed.
Nick Ahmed played a majority of games at that spot for San Francisco and struggled mightily while healthy. He slashed just a .232/.278/.303 line over 52 games this season. Obviously not performing up to the level that the team wanted, he was DFA’d at the start of July.
Ahmed recently signed a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and when 3-for-7 with a home run in a revenge series against the Giants. That home run tied the same amount that he hit during his San Francisco tenure.
Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt and Marco Luciano have also played a few games for the Giants at shortstop.
Wisely serves as a bit of a warning to not get too attached to the surging infielder. He got off to a fast start, but has gone ice cold at the plate. In the month of July, he’s slashing just .203/.242/.288.
Fitzgerald doesn’t have to continue playing at a Bonds-esque level to be an improvement over what they’ve had for a large chunk of the season, though San Francisco certainly wouldn’t complain if he did.