Giants Baseball Insider

San Francisco Giants Sophomore Named Franchise's ‘X-Factor’ This Season

The San Francisco Giants have a star outfielder that could play a large part in getting the team back to the postseason.

Dylan Sanders

May 7, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee (51) hits a single in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. =
May 7, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee (51) hits a single in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. = / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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The San Francisco Giants have not been to the playoffs in three seasons, but they could make it back this year if some of their stars continue to breakout.

MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan recently looked to find some players on teams that missed the postseason last year, that could be "x-factors" in getting their clubs back into the playoffs.

One of those players was Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, who was their big signing last offseason. He ended up missing most of the year with an injury, but has plenty of tools that could lead to MLB success in the future.

Lee was a bonafide superstar over in the KBO. He won the Rookie of the Year, MVP, five Golden Gloves and was a two-time batting champion.

That is just about as good of a resume as one could get for someone that will be 26 this season.

He had a career .340/.407/.491 slash line. He rarely struck out and drew walks at a solid rate. The only thing misses was some serious home run power. Lee did hit 23 home runs in 2022, but that is an outlier season.

Defensively, he has the chance to be one of the best center fielders in the league.

There is a reason that San Francisco had to open up the checkbook to get him to sign. Back ahead of last season, the Giants signed Lee to a six-year, $113 million. That puts him as the fourth-highest paid center fielder in MLB, just ahead of Minnesota Twins star Byron Buxton.

Over his first 37 games, he was able to produce a .262/.310/.331 slash line with two home runs. His OPS+ was down to 86, which is well below league average.

He is fast, with a cannon for an arm, but had some growing pains there too and was just an average defender before the injury.

Lee's spring has been very promising with a .300/.400/.567 slash line over 35 plate appearances. He is still striking out a bit more than he was in Korea, but that isn't a huge worry for him.

Even without the results being overwhelming, he still looks patient and confident at the plate. It should all come together in time.

San Francisco is trying to put together a championship-level roster. They are also looking for players to stand outThis could be a great chance to Lee to prove himself as a solid investment at the outfield's most important position.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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