Five overlooked players who will lead the SF Giants in 2023

Aya Newman breaks down five overlooked players who the SF Giants will need to step up to contend in 2023.

So, the SF Giants haven’t had the easiest last 12 months. A combination of 107-win hangover, bad luck, injuries, a just-barely-.500 season, and a Carlos Correa-sized hole in fans’ hearts. In all the ennui, it’s easy to forget about players old and new who have proved themselves able to help lift the team. Here are five of those players currently on the Giants’ roster.

SF Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski rounds the bases. (2022) / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Overlooked SF Giants players: 1. Mike Yastrzemski, OF

For whatever reason, people are still underestimating Mike Yastrzemski. He hasn’t quite replicated his bright spot of a rookie season in 2019 or standout pandemic-shortened season in 2020, making many around the league speculate that he was a small-sample wonder. And yet, he has contributed positively to the Giants every year since then. He has no less than 17 home runs in three full MLB seasons, hitting as many as 25 in 2021, and managed to steer clear of major injuries thus far.

He won the Willie Mac Award in 2020, an indicator of his leadership and strong work ethic during the COVID-shortened season. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment has been his defensive stability. He was a Gold Glove finalist in 2021, and one of only four players on the Giants to play 125 games or more and record a positive Outs Above Average last year.

Yaz will most likely be part of a center field platoon with Austin Slater, although he could return to splitting time between center and right field if offseason acquisition Michael Conforto's rehab limits him to start the season. However, assuming Conforto's health, playing one position should give Yastrzemski a chance to further solidify his defense and approach in the batter’s box. If Yaz can put it all together, he has the potential to be once again be one of the best players in the National League West.

SF Giants starting pitcher Sean Manaea (52) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Reds. (2023) :: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Overlooked SF Giants players: 2. Sean Manaea, LHP

The Giants knew they would need to strengthen their starting pitching after Carlos Rodón left for New York. The team signed Sean Manaea to a two-year contract to help fill the void. Manaea spent the first six seasons of his career with the Oakland A’s, establishing himself as a solid starter with a good changeup. A trade sent him to the San Diego Padres, where he struggled: he tallied career highs in earned runs and home runs, and recorded a losing record for the first time since his rookie year in 2016. He didn’t stand out on the Padres roster, which featured MVP-level players like Manny Machado and Juan Soto alongside a rotation with former Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. Despite this, he can still help the Giants.

According to Baseball Savant, he threw 53.5% of his pitches in the strike zone in 2022, which was higher than league average. Another notable stat: 61.7% of balls in play off of Manaea are graded as fly balls or line drives based on launch angle. Oracle Park’s roomy dimensions will benefit him, as batters will have to hit the ball harder to turn his pitches into home runs (and even then, they’ll have to pray that the wind doesn’t knock it down). The Giants aren’t expecting Manaea to be an ace: they just want a solid left handed rotation piece who can give them innings and throw strikes. He’s more than capable of both. He's already flashed significantly improved velocity this spring, suggesting a breakout could be in store.

Atlanta relief pitcher Luke Jackson (77) throws against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning of game four of the 2021 World Series / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Overlooked SF Giants players: 3. Luke Jackson, RHP

So, the bad news first. Luke Jackson is still recovering from Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL. He didn’t pitch at all in 2022 and probably won’t be ready to pitch again until at least a month into this season. The good news? The last time he was on a baseball field, it was to celebrate a World Series victory with Atlanta in 2021. 2021 was Jackson’s best year by far as a Major Leaguer: he logged a career-high in appearances and innings pitched and a career-low 1.98 ERA simultaneously.

He relies heavily on a slider that measures 40 inches of vertical drop, 25% more than the league average slider according to Baseball Savant. He couples it with a mid-to-high-90s fastball that tends to stay up in the strike zone. The kicker is that the release point for these two wildly different pitches is almost exactly the same. Jackson’s extension, or how far above the mound he releases his pitches, averages 6.7 feet for the slider and 6.8 feet for the fastball. The two pitches look the same out of his hand, but the batter has almost no time to decode whether the ball will dive more than three feet or they’ll have to catch up to a high fastball.

Of course, Jackson hasn’t pitched for more than a year. He won’t be back to his former self right away, and it’s pretty unlikely he’ll be able to repeat his 2021 success after such a serious surgery. But if he’s able to recreate some of the efficacy of his two pitches, he’ll be a reliable right-handed option out of the recently unpredictable Giants bullpen.

SF Giants infielder David Villar watches a ball after hitting a homer against the Dodgers. (2022) / Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Overlooked SF Giants players: 4. David Villar, INF

David Villar’s MLB career started off with a bang: he cranked a ringing double off the first pitch he saw from Madison Bumgarner at Chase Field. He dunked an RBI single into shallow right field during his next at-bat, giving Giants fans a jolt of excitement in the middle of an already trying season. However, he struggled to find consistency in the subsequent games, and was optioned back to the Sacramento River Cats a month later.

At that point in the season, Villar seemed to be another name the Giants plugged into the lineup as they struggled to spark the team into playoff contention. What people may not have realized is that Villar was in the middle of a season in Triple-A that earned him the Pacific Coast League MVP. He hit .275 with 27 homers, 82 RBIs, and a 1.021 OPS in 84 games with Sacramento. The year before, he was the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ team MVP.

He played in almost every game after he was recalled back up to the Giants in September, and he had much more success showing off his skill set in his second stint in the Majors. In the 29 games he played after his September call-up, he hit .269 with 8 home runs and 17 RBI, bouncing deftly between playing first, second, and third base. Villar has excelled at every level of baseball he’s played. Once he settles into the rhythm of a full MLB season, there’s a great chance he’ll excel here too.

SF Giants outfielder Austin Slater looks to the dugout from second base. (2022) / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Overlooked SF Giants players: 5. Austin Slater, OF

Austin Slater has always been one of the best athletes on the Giants’ roster. He’s fast, he plays good defense, and could probably hit an opposite-field single against a left-handed pitcher in his sleep. Because of his splits against lefties versus righties, he hasn’t seen the kind of consistent playing time to become a bigger name, but that doesn't mean he cant be a core part of the Giants.

This year, though, that could change. A deep dive into Slater’s stats from the past two years reveals something unexpected. Last season, he hit .246 with a .350 OBP and .361 slugging percentage against right-handed pitching. While those numbers are far from exceptional, they are solid enough to justify more consistent opportunities.

Slater will most likely make up the right-handed half of the center field platoon with Yastrzemski, giving him a set role to focus on. His improvement against righties might not get utilized, which is understandable. But if it does, it’s yet another way Austin Slater could help the SF Giants return as a contender.