San Francisco Giants New Ace Had Incredible Walk-Year Performance

A San Francisco Giants pitcher made the most of his pre-free agency season.

Aug 30, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) prepares to throw against the Miami Marlins during the third inning at Oracle Park. / John Hefti-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants were aggressive during the offseason leading into the 2024 MLB campaign. One of the biggest additions was ace starting pitcher, Blake Snell.

As a Scott Boras client, Snell was expected to land a massive multi-year deal. But, nothing of the sort materialized, as the lefty settled for a two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants.

While the contract was not what he was hoping for, Snell did everything in his power to maximize his earnings. His dominant performance was recognized by Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report in a recent piece.

The MLB writer shared some of the best seasons a player has ever had entering free agency. Snell’s 2023 performance with the San Diego Padres landed on his list.

“Snell went 14-9 with MLB-best marks in terms of ERA (2.25), ERA+ (187) and H/9 (5.8) for the San Diego Padres in 2023, winning the NL Cy Young Award. Paired with the AL Cy Young Award Snell won as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, Snell became the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win the honor in both leagues,” wrote Kelly.

That certainly sounds like the kind of production that would lead to a player cashing in big-time as a free agent. But, there were knocks against Snell despite taking home the most prestigious pitching award in baseball.

Outside of his Cy Young Award-winning seasons, when he threw 180 and 180.2 innings, 129.1 innings is his high in any other campaign. He hasn’t made an All-Star team any other year, either.

While Snell has the stuff of an ace, he routinely wasn’t working deep into games. With the reputation of not being a workhorse, it was hard for some teams to justify paying him as a top-of-the-rotation player despite his skill set categorizing him as such.

It will be interesting to see if Snell can turn his 2024 season into a bigger contract this upcoming winter. He is expected to exercise the opt-out in his contract and hit free agency again.

Once again, his production has warranted a lucrative deal. He has been incredible since a second stint on the injured list, anchoring the team’s rotation along with Logan Webb.

Overall in 2024, Snell has made 17 starts and thrown 87 innings, including his first career complete game shutout. He has 116 strikeouts and a 3.62 ERA, performing as one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues since July 9th.