(Via Sacramento Rivercats)
The bad news: Once again, the San Francisco Giants were one of the worst power hitting teams in Major League Baseball last season. San Francisco finished 28th out of 30 teams in 2016 with just 130 home runs, one spot below where they finished in 2015. It’s not just because they play in the pitcher friendly AT&T Park either. The Giants finished 27th in the league away from home in 2016. It’s a real problem.
The good news: The Giants, for the first time in a while, have a handful of young power hitting prospects at every level of their farm system. Three notable youngsters have been opening eyes of late, combining for 690 total bases in 367 Minor League games in 2016, and leading MiLB.com to say that the Giants farm system is in as fine a shape as ever.
Here’s a breakdown of the three power-hitting prospects turning heads.
OF Austin Slater, Richmond (41 games), (Sacramento 68 games)
Slater, the Giants’ 22nd ranked prospect, is the closest to big league ready of the three, and impressed after being called up to the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats for the first time last season. As a right-handed hitting outfielder, Slater, 24, fits exactly what the Giants are currently missing in their big league lineup. Slater was a monster after being called up to Sacramento, hitting .381, blasting nine home runs and 26 RBIs in just 30 games in the month of August. Between AA and AAA, Slater finished with 18 jacks (third in the system) in 2016, while posting an impressive line of .305/.393/.500. Slater attended Stanford and was selected by the Giants in the 8th round of the 2014 Draft.
1B Chris Shaw, San Jose (72 games), Richmond (60 games)
Though not as polished as Slater, 2015 first-round pick Shaw put up even more impressive power numbers at the Double-A and Single-A levels last season. Shaw is considered the third best prospect in the Giants farm system and played like it, finishing with 21 home runs, good for second in the system, 16 of those coming in just 72 games with the San Jose Giants. Shaw slowed down a bit after getting the call up to Richmond, hitting just five home runs in 60 at bats and seeing his .OPS drop from an incredible .902 to an average .722. Still, at just 23-years-old, it will be interesting to see what Slater does in 2017 in his first full season in the high minors.
OF Dylan Davis, Augusta (63 games), San Jose (63 games)
And then there’s Davis, the rawest of the three, but also the system leader in home runs with 26 in 2016. Davis, 23, was the Giants third-round pick in the 2014 draft, and struggled for two seasons before breaking through in 2016. Davis is the biggest unknown of the three, and still has to prove he can rock the ball with consistency in the upper minors, something he will no doubt have the chance to do in 2017. Davis finished with an impressive line .283/.356/.521 in 2016. Like Slater, Davis fits the right-handed outfield power-hitter mold the Giants currently lack.