What should the outfield look like for the rest of the year?
Pretty big and green and filled with grass, I guess
September is almost upon us, and you know what that means: soon someone will tweet out a “Wake up the guy from Green Day” joke and then someone else will say that that song is particularly meaningful to them so that’s not a great joke and then someone else will chime in and then we will have Discourse, the worst of all things.
Also, the San Francisco Giants will play more baseball games.
The Giants have a plethora of options in the outfield, but only a few spots for all those players. So I’m going to present the arguments in favor of and against giving all the 40-man outfielders lots of playing time. And then you can decide what you want! Or not! I’m not the boss of you.
(Note: For this exercise, I am assuming that any injured players will be back healthy and anyone in the minors will be able to play. This exercise is about comparing players at their best, and we will ignore logistical problems)
Michael Conforto
Why play him?
He’s shown flashes this year of the old Conforto, who could be such a terror for the Mets. When healthy, he could be the best hitter on the team. For a team that is so desperate for hitters, he could be a godsend.
Why not play him?
“Shown flashes.” “When healthy.” “Could be a godsend.” You know what those aren’t? Ringing endorsements. Michael Conforto, like the Giants offense as a whole, is theoretically good, but not actually good. Which is great if the team wants to contend for a theoretical championship, but not super helpful for the real one. He just hasn’t been that good this year overall. Maybe another healthy offseason will get him back to 2017-2020 Conforto next year, but he’s not doing a ton to help the team right now.
Mitch Haniger
Why play him?
The offense was at its best this year when Haniger was hitting in the middle of the order. His track record with Seattle speaks for itself. And hey, you don’t give a guy all that money over three years and then not play him.
Why not play him?
Mitch Haniger has been really, really bad this year. The last thing the Giants need is another really, really bad hitter to go along with all the guys in the lineup who should already be hitting better. How many times can you double down on the same failing strategy?
Luis Matos
Why play him?
He’s young! He’s exciting! He has tools but he needs to learn to apply them at the major league level. And hey, whaddya know, that’s exactly the level we’re talking about.
Why not play him?
This month, he’s hitting .226/.268/.377. On the season, he’s at .250/.311/.356. It’s just…not there yet. Not to say it won’t be! But it isn’t right now.
Wade Meckler
Why play him?
Meckler’s first few games in the majors were rough. He would take balls only for them to get called strikes, hit the ball hard only for it to get caught, and also hit the ball softly only for it to still get caught anyway. No matter what he did, he couldn’t win. But he finally turned it around, with an excellent walk rate over the last week or so and what sure looks like increased confidence that he deserves this level.
Why not play him?
He still doesn’t have any power. It’s an open question whether it was even a good idea to put him on the 40-man and call him up. But when this team is trying to win? Is that really a good idea? It’s easy to argue it isn’t.
AJ Pollock
Why play him?
(Footage not found)
Why not play him?
Heliot Ramos
Why play him?
He hits the ball hard. Like, real hard. Are there contact issues? Absolutely there are. But smacking the hell out of some cowhide is a hell of a way to make up for it. Plus, he’s young, he’s at the best age to listen to coaches, and he has all the talent in the world. Why not give him a shot?
Why not play him?
The strikeout rate is way too high. He makes mental errors. He makes physical errors. He hasn’t fulfilled his promise yet (Join the club, buddy). The organization very clearly does not believe in him. Even if I could talk you into this, I don’t think I could talk Farhan or Kap into it.
Blake Sabol
Why play him?
Sabol has impressive power. When he gets ahold of one, it stays gotten ahold of. He’s always a threat to go deep, and the Giants, not particularly effective at hitting for power this year, need that.
Why not play him?
Oh, he’s been terrible all month, and at this point he’s basically just on the roster because the team wants to keep him in the organization and, as a Rule 5 pick, they can’t send him down to the minors. Maybe they don’t really believe in Joey Bart either and maybe they don’t want to use a 40-man spot on Ricardo Genoves, so Sabol would still win by default, but Sabol has pretty clearly not been good enough this month. And then you’re going to play him out of position in the outfield when he’s really a catcher? Seems unwise!
Austin Slater
Why play him?
He’s pretty good, and he’s around, so you might as well play him, right?
Why not play him?
Boy, that month-long stretch was brutal. It seems like Slater is never going to take the leap to force people to sit up and take notice of him. He’s just going to be a nice complementary player. Do the Giants really need more of those? Do they want to use precious 2023 playing time on it? Well, yes, probably. But does it make sense to do that? Not really.
Mike Yastrzemski
Why play him?
He’s been good and we like him. Don’t overthink this.
Why not play him?
He’s not that good. He’s not, like, making the difference in a playoff push good. He’s certainly not, by any means, bad, but he’s not exciting and he’s not a difference maker for this team. They need someone to make a difference. It won’t be Yaz.
Guy The Giants Will Pick Up On Waivers Today, Maybe, or Possibly Already Picked Up On Waivers. I Don’t Know When You’re Reading This Or If That Happened.
Why play him?
He has a strong track record. Sure, the Angels/Yankees/whoever let him go on waivers because they would prefer to not pay him instead of having him on their baseball team, but the Giants can get him back on track. Why not give him a shot?
Why not play him?
He may or may not exist, and if he does exist he hasn’t been good this year.
In conclusion, the Giants outfield is a land of contrasts, and they should play no one, since the perfect outfielder doesn’t exist.
I would like nominate Pollock for uniform number 404. Not as classic as “ Boo” but still mildly amusing.