Suddenly, Austin Slater Is The Best Position Player On The San Francisco Giants

During Saturday’s national broadcast, play-by-play announcer Joe Davis kept commenting on Austin Slater’s hot July. Of course, Joe Davis is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ regular play-by-play announcer, so he does have more intimate knowledge of the San Francisco Giants. However, with the San Francisco Giants’ at a contending crossroads, Slater picked a good time to show out on the national stage.

Although Slater does not qualify due to his platoon usage against left-handed pitching, among players with at least 180 plate appearances, Slater has a 145 wRC+. That mark makes him the 21st best offensive player in the league by that measure. Additionally, in his limited playing time, he’s amassed 1.8 fWAR making him the team leader in fWAR among Giants position players.

With the trade deadline looming, the Giants worst case scenario’d themselves by getting swept by the Dodgers in a four game series to start the second half. While fans would love to see the Giants make a huge push to clinch a Wild Card spot and potential future success by trading the farm for Juan Soto, they may actually end up seeing more people departing the organization rather that arriving to it.

Austin Slater has already proven himself to be a lefty killer, but this sudden return to his 2020 form where he also hit right-handed pitching well, may make him an appealing target for a contending team.

There was a time at the beginning of the season where Austin Slater was struggling so badly offensively that he seemed to be at risk of being optioned to the Minor Leagues. Instead a slight adjustment to his set up seems to coincide with his recent offensive surge.

Slater had been up and down prior to this adjustment, but following a June where he hit just .227 in a platoon role, it seemed that Slater’s platoon edge was not as sharp as it should be.

Following the adjustment, Slater has been hitting .400, but he’s also hitting .333 against right handed pitching. Additionally, he’s forced the Giants to start him in all but three games since July 8th.

Coincidentally, this current set up not only looks more similar to his 2020 set up, but he’s starting to produce results more akin to his 2020 season as well. If Slater can consistently hit right handed pitching again, that could make him incredibly valuable to a team with championship aspirations. Slater has also played a solid centerfield for the Giants this season, which only adds to his perceived trade value.

If the Giants move into sell mode and lean into a youth movement following two seasons where the Giants overachieved tremendously, they may be able to have an expedited rebuilding effort. They already have a top loaded farm system and if there is an opportunity for them to create a little more depth by moving some assets, their timeline for a rebuild could be relatively short.

With pitchers like Alex Cobb, Jakob Junis, and Alex Wood showing some value as potential back of the rotation or swing man type pitchers, and Carlos Rodon’s weird deal, someone like Austin Slater might be one of the San Francisco Giants’ better trade chips. His versatility and team control have appeal and despite dealing with a lot of criticism throughout his Giants career, he has been a solid player. Frankly, he would make any team he’s on better, because that’s what he’s done his whole career in San Francisco.