Giants general manager Bobby Evans has said repeatedly since the beginning of the offseason, that youngsters Mac Williamson and Jarret Parker will compete for the starting spot in left-field, and that ideally, one would set himself apart as a full time starter. Evans went onto say this week that it’s likely that the player who does not win the job, may be sent down to Triple-A to get more consistent playing time.
Giants executive Brain Sabean gave the first hint of who may already have an edge in the competition as spring training gets under way, during his interview with Murph and Mac Friday morning.
“That could be (Bruce) Boch(y) and maybe more so Bobby (Evans)’s mindset going in, but I know that they’ll let the camp be competitive,” Sabean said when asked if Parker has the edge. “Jarrett has shown in a small sample size — but at least he’s done it at the big league level — that he has that kind’ve power to be able to play left field. What we do to complement the rest of the outfield is maybe more of a burning question. In a perfect world, both Boch and Bobby want somebody who can be a full time solution vs. having to go to a platoon. Personally, Williamson may need more time in the minor leagues, because if you go back to his minor league time in general, he missed quite a bit of the season in San Jose when he started to percolate as a prospect with the Tommy John, and he’s been running behind with his at-bats.
“You know when you come to the big leagues and you’re not an everyday player, you have to try to get at-bats coming off the bench and it’s very difficult to get in the swing of things. I don’t know if that option will be played against him or where it lies as far as his relative ability to compete.”
Williamson had Tommy John surgery in 2014, after beginning the Single-A season with a .318 average and three home runs in 23 games. Both he and Parker got their first consistent taste of big league action in 2016, and put together similar numbers at the plate. Williamson finished with a line of .223/.315/.411, while Parker posted .236/.358/.394.
Though their power numbers were similar last season (six HR for Williamson and five for Parker), Parker has shown an ability to do it more consistently, also smacking six long bombs in 2015 in just 49 at-bats. Without much right-handed power on the club, the ability to hit home runs may prove to be the difference in who wins the job.