SF Giants recall former Rangers slugger Willie Calhoun from Triple-A

The SF Giants recalled Vallejo, California native Willie Calhoun from Triple-A Sacramento and placed Tommy La Stella on the injured list.

Marc Delucchi | Sep 12, 2022

SF Giants recall former Rangers slugger Willie Calhoun from Triple-A /

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San Francisco Giants

In a flurry of roster moves prior to their game on Monday, the SF Giants recalled slugger Willie Calhoun from Triple-A and placed infielder Tommy La Stella on the injured list with neck spasms in a corresponding move. Calhoun joins hard-throwing righty Cole Waites, who was also promoted on Monday. The Giants acquired Calhoun from the Texas Rangers in a trade for Steven Duggar earlier this season.

Calhoun was drafted by the Dodgers back in 2015 out of Yavapai College when both Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler were both working in Los Angeles. Calhoun quickly blasted his way through the lower minors and had established himself as a consensus top-100 prospect in the minor leagues by 2017.

At the 2017 MLB trade deadline, the Dodgers used Calhoun as the centerpiece of a trade package to acquire Yu Darvish from the Rangers, and by the end of the year, Calhoun had made his big-league debut in Arlington.

Rangers DH Willie Calhoun takes a swing. (2022) — Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

In 2019, Calhoun looked like one of the best young hitters in MLB. While injuries limited him to just 83 games that year, he hit 21 homers as a 24-year-old and posted an excellent .269/.323/.524 triple-slash.

Over the past three seasons, though, Calhoun was unable to build off his success. Calhoun has openly discussed struggling after undergoing swing changes with the Rangers' staff to try and tap into more of his power. Earlier this season, as he faded from Texas' lineup, Calhoun was optioned to the minor leagues and requested a trade. Since arriving in the Giants organization, Calhoun has hit .299/.386/.465 with five home runs in 41 games with their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento.

Defensively, Calhoun has always been limited. He has a fringe arm and below-average range, which has always limited him to first base, second base, and left field, where he has graded out as a below-average option. He has appeared at five games in right field for Sacramento this season, but it's hard to imagine him being a viable option in right at Oracle Park.

La Stella has struggled mightily this year, so much so that one SF Giants beat writer expects him to be released this offseason. He has appeared in 135 games over the past two years and is hitting just .244/.295/.380 with 25 doubles and nine home runs in 433 plate appearances. Over his nine-year MLB career, La Stella has a .267/.337/.399 triple-slash in 1,929 plate appearances between the Giants, Cubs, Angels, Athletics, and Atlanta.

Published Sep 12, 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).