Tyler Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald's overall production was somewhat predicted by his work in the minors the previous two seasons as he was a 20-20 player in both Double-A and Triple-A in the San Francisco system. He made the club out of camp, but did not see consistent playing time and was even sent back down to Triple-A until the just before the All-Star break. He homered in his last start before the break, and then proceeded to homer in each of the first four games after the break. That magical week was fun, but Fitzgerald only went on to homer nine more timest he season of the season with a .263/.311/.455 triple-slash line in the second half. The homers and steals were there, but so wwere the strikeouts as Fitzgerald has consistenly had below-average strikeout rates throughout his professional career. He made his living off hunting for fastballs hitting .328 (.287 xBA) with 9 of his 15 homers coming off fastballs, but his expected batting averages off non-fastballs was near .150 with a 44% whiff rate. The Giants have already said this winter that they are looking to add an everyday shortstop which potentially speaks to their desire to use Fitzgerald as a super-utility player as well as their acknowledgement that this is a risky skillset to bank on for an everyday player. You would be wise to give credence to their expressed thoughts and actions. Read Past Outlooks