San Francisco Giants Star Prospect Already Flashing Game-Changing Potential

It hasn't taken long for one of the San Francisco Giants star prospects to showcase what he can do at the Major League level going forward.

Aug 17, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Grant McCray (58) warms up before the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

This has been an interesting year for the San Francisco Giants.

They started out by being aggressive in the offseason, overhauling their roster by bringing in high-profile players so they could compete in their division, and the National League as a whole, to make the playoffs.

It hasn't worked out the way anyone had imagined.

Entering Monday, the Giants are 63-63, which puts them 10.5 games out of the NL West lead and four back of the final Wild Card spot.

If they're going to make a late push, they have to start stringing together multiple wins and put some pressure on the teams in front of them or major changes could be coming after the year.

One way San Francisco tried to find a spark was by promoting one of their top prospects, Grant McCray, on August 14.

So far, the 11th-ranked player in their pipeline has flashed his immense potential, going 5-for-14 with a homer, two doubles and two RBI in his first four games of MLB action.

And while his OPS is a ridiculous 1.114 during this short sample size, it's another area of his game that is impressing the organization during his first stint in the bigs.

"He's the kind of guy that hits a ground ball and is going to create a little angst for every infielder because he gets down the line so good ... He's off to a great start. He's playing with a lot of confidence. His speed, his defensive ability, he certainly looks the part. He's fast and having good at-bats right now against guys he's never faced before," manager Bob Melvin said according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

That speed was on display over the weekend.

On Saturday night, the Giants were being no-hit by the Oakland Athletics through five innings until McCray was able to get on base with a swinging bunt that was the first of his two hits in the contest.

He's yet to record a steal, but he's able to impact the game whenever he puts the ball into play by running up the first base line at a rapid pace.

The center fielder just continues to add options to what San Francisco has going forward.

With high-priced signing Jung Hoo Lee likely making his return next year, they will have him in the mix alongside breakout star Heliot Ramos, Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler Fitzgerald, and now McCray if he continues to perform well.

McCray will certainly be someone to keep an eye during the final stretch of this season.