San Francisco Giants 2017 Player Review: The Infielders

Brandon Crawford

Brandon Crawford had another Gold Glove season at shortstop and should be the favorite to repeat as the winner of the award. With so much frustration this season in San Francisco, one of the few consistencies was Crawford’s glove.

His bat, on the other hand, struggled. He finished the year with a slashline of .253/.305/.403, which was the lowest OPS among the infield regulars.  That is not good for the man who began the season as the team’s #5 hitter.

One thing that was encouraging for Giants fans was Crawford did turn things around in the second half of the season at the plate.

On August 15th, Crawford was hitting just .224 and just two weeks later, he had raised his average 20 points. To end the season at .253, nearly 30 points higher than where he was in mid-August is remarkable.

Ultimately, he led the team in RBI’s for the second straight season. His 77 RBI’s were ten more than Hunter Pence, who was second. He also finished second in home runs with 14 and tied with Posey for the lead in doubles with 34.

The Giants should be looking to upgrade the middle of their lineup this off-season. If Crawford could bat lower in the lineup, his ability to drive runs in and hit for some power could become even more dangerous. Hopefully, the surge in the last month and a half of the season will be a sign of things to come for Crawford.