San Francisco Giants Rookie Joins Company with Legendary Willie McCovey

San Francisco Giants rookie Casey Schmitt is doing things not seen since the days of Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.

Any time you are mentioned in the same breath as a Hall of Famer, it's an amazing accomplishment.

Any time you are mentioned in the same breath as a Hall of Famer as a rookie? It's absolutely incredible.

Such is the case for San Francisco Giants rookie infielder Casey Schmitt, who is doing things in his first week on the job that haven't been done since the days of Willie McCovey.

Sarah Langs of MLB.com put this out on Twitter:

most extra-base hits in 1st 7 career games, Giants since at least 1901: 

1959 Willie McCovey: 7 

2023 Casey Schmitt: 6

most extra-base hits in 1st 7 career games, Giants since at least 1901:

1959 Willie McCovey: 7
2023 Casey Schmitt: 6

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 16, 2023

Yes, that's pretty exclusive company. Schmitt went 2-4 on Monday night in a 6-3 win over the Phillies. He's now hitting .464 since being called up. He has two home runs and five RBI in 28 at-bats.

This isn't the first history he's made this week, either.... 

The 24-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2020 draft out of San Diego State. He's currently the fourth-ranked prospect in the Giants system.

From his MLB.com profile:

After a broken nose and left wrist injury marred his 2021 pro debut, he hit .293/.365/.489 with 21 homers while advancing to Triple-A last year.

Schmitt showed more power with wood bats than metal bats as an amateur, and he began hitting balls harder and driving them more consistently in 2022. He showed a quicker right-handed swing than in the past and tapped into his solid raw power more easily by not swinging for the fences. He crushes fastballs but still has to prove he can handle quality offspeed pitches at the upper levels.

Though he's a below-average runner out of the batter's box, Schmitt moves well at third base and is a potential Gold Glover. He has range to both sides, reliable hands and a strong arm that produced fastballs up to 96 mph and some devastating mid-80s splitters when he closed games in college. His defensive tools translated into solid shortstop play when the Giants needed him to take over for an injured Marco Luciano at High-A Eugene last year.

As for McCovey, he's one of the most decorated players in Giants history. He played 22 years in the majors, spending 19 of them in San Francisco. He also spent parts of three years in San Diego and one in Oakland.

A lifetime .270 hitter, McCovey blasted 521 career homers and drove in 1555. He was a six-time All-Star, an MVP, a Rookie of the Year and MVP of the All-Star Game. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

The Giants are currently 18-23 and will host the Phillies again on Tuesday night at 9:45 p.m. ET.

Alex Cobb will pitch for San Francisco while Zack Wheeler goes for Philadelphia.

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