The San Francisco Giants season has been below what you’d expect from a team that brought in talented players like Blake Snell and Matt Chapman. But in the second half, the Giants have been much better and have made a push for that final wild-card spot. The Giants sit at 62-62 after a rough series against the Braves, but there’s still a chance for the playoffs with how these players have impacted the Giant’s season.
5 Players Saving The Giants Season
5. Heliot Ramos
Ramos has been a revelation for this Giants team. Ramos has 17 home runs with most coming in the first half of the season. Ramos when he came up again went on a tear. In the months of June and July Ramos hit a combined 13 home runs. He was the spark plug for an injured team that needed production from anyone. He carried this Giants team to multiple wins in the first half earning himself a 2.3 war and an All-Star appearance. Without Ramos, this Giants season would’ve been over a long time ago. Although his production has simmered in the second half his impact on the team could not be ignored.
4. Logan Webb
Webb has been much better in the second half of this season sporting a 2.76 era. A lot of this could be attributed to Webb rediscovering his changeup in August. This season he threw the changeup 33% of the time compared to last season where he threw it 41.6% of the time. His changeup is his most valuable pitch. Last season his run value on the changeup was a league-leading 28 and this basically means he had the best changeup on the planet. This season he has only a five run value. So his increased usage of the changeup in the second half has benefitted him a lot. One of the biggest examples of this was his complete game shutout against the Oakland A’s on July 31st. Webb threw 54 changeups which was 50% of his pitches in that game and it worked tremendously well as the A’s could barely get a hit off Webb. Webb’s rediscovery of this pitch has led to multiple great starts since the All-Star break and the Giants need him to be dominant if they want a chance at the wild card.
3. Tyler Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald has been the second coming of Barry Bonds over the last month. Fitzgerald in July and August has hit 13 home runs. He’s been insanely powerful over this past month. Hitting home run after home run in back-to-back games. He’s even matched Bonds in some of his outrageous home run spans. Fitzgerald is the first Giant with 10 home runs over a 16-game span since Bonds. His ability to produce offense out of nothing has helped push a sub-par lineup to wins. The Giants have a .233 batting average with runners in scoring position which is 24th in the MLB. So Fitzgerald’s Bonds-like power has kept the offense afloat. The Giants have found a gem with Fitzgerald who looks to have an immense impact on this team for years to come.
2. Matt Chapman
Chapman has been a godsend for this Giants team. His defense and offense have been unreal. Amongst healthy players, Chapman leads the team in both home runs (19) and outs above average (4.0). His platinum glove has shown over the past few months after starting the season with a couple of unusual errors. His offense has also been unbelievable in the second half of the season he has a .290 batting average and a .570 slugging percentage. His slugging numbers are outrageous putting him up there with the best hitters in all of baseball. But that’s how well Chapman has been performing. Chapman has a wins above replacement (WAR) of 4.0 which is up there with some of his best seasons ever. The Giants need to hang on to Matt Chapman when this season ends and pay him the money he’s worth.
1. Blake Snell
Not much needs to be said about Snell as his pitching has done enough of talking. He has a 1.35 era and a crazy 13.23 strikeouts per nine innings in the second half. His statistics are out of this world if he could’ve played more in the first half he’d be on pace for back-to-back Cy young awards. If Snell continues to deal like this and the Giants make the playoffs, it’s hard to think any team would want to face them in a series. The pitching potential of the Giants is deadly and it’s led by Snell’s dominance. Hopefully, the Giants can put it all together down the stretch and grab one of the wild card spots so they can show the world how good they could be in a wild card and NLDS setting.
The Giants have a challenge ahead of them as they currently sit three and a half games back. They need to go on a big winning streak if they want a chance to fight for the playoffs. It’s a good thing for the Giants that they can rely on these guys to show up and show out down the stretch.
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