SF Giants manager Gabe Kapler heaps praise on Thairo Estrada

SF Giants manager Gabe Kapler complimented young infielder Thairo Estrada after another standout performance on Tuesday.

Marc Delucchi | Sep 21, 2022

SF Giants manager Gabe Kapler heaps praise on Thairo Estrada /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants may be underperforming expectations this season, but infielder Thairo Estrada has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise inconsistent lineup. After Estrada added a pair of hits in Tuesday's Giants victory in Colorado, manager Gabe Kapler took some time to compliment Estrada in his postgame press conference.

"Estrada continues to be outstanding," Kapler said. "What we're learning about Thairo is not only is he coming up in the biggest moments and being able to slow his heartbeat down, not only is he going out there and playing every day and showing durability, but the toughness is off the charts. The physical toughness is off the charts. It's certainly encouraging."

Estrada has arguably been the best position player on the Giants roster this season, with Wilmer Flores the only player matching his production. After going 2-for-4 with a double on Tuesday, Estrada is hitting .268/.329/.419 this season with 22 doubles, 14 home runs, and 19 stolen bases in 129 games. While Estrada was fantastic in 2021 as a platoon bat against left-handed pitching, he's shown that he is capable of being a productive everyday player.

Kapler acknowledged that Estrada's workload is wearing on him late in the season. Estrada was hit by a pitch on the elbow in Tuesday's game, and according to Kapler, it was causing him some discomfort. "I can share this. He's a little tight tonight," Kapler said. "It's been a big workload for him, and he'll get the day off tomorrow."

Still, late into September, Thairo Estrada's performance at the plate has shown no signs of slowing down. Over his past nine games, Estrada has a scorching .419/.500/.710 triple-slash. As the SF Giants wrap up a disappointing season, it's great to see players like Estrada capping off strong seasons.

Published Sep 21, 2022

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).