San Francisco Giants need Chris Shaw to shape up or ship out

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 31: Chris Shaw #26 of the San Francisco Giants in his major league debut hits a sacrifice fly scoring Brandon Belt #9 in the bottom of the seventh inning at AT&T Park on August 31, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The Giants will go in to this season with a left-handed heavy starting lineup, and even their switch hitters hit better from the left side. If he can bring his numbers up in the PCL, and the Giants are floating around .500 by the middle of the season, this could be a potential scenario for him to be brought up.

Shaw will be spending his third season in AAA, and even though he has options left, his (figurative) options will start running dry if he can’t find a way to improve his game. So what happens if he can’t improve his game? The only real solution is to trade him to a ballpark that favors his power.

Everyone remembers Adam Duvall. Although the Giants traded for him to address a deficiency in their starting rotation, Duvall is essentially Shaw with better defense. One can argue that he benefited from playing in a bandbox like Great American Ball Park. His numbers with the Giants weren’t exactly fantastic, and his numbers took a nose-dive after his trade to the Braves. Maybe Shaw can benefit from a change of scenery, and this change can give the Giants a piece they need.

If Farhan Zaidi intends to overhaul the minor league system, the Giants’ 2015 1st Round Pick will likely be one of the first on the chopping block. Unlike his fellow outfielders, Mac Williamson and Austin Slater, Shaw has not made any real changes to his plate approach to attempt to improve his numbers.

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At 25 years old, he will need to do that if he intends on sticking it out with this club. Best case scenario is he turns his game around and helps the Giants in the future, worst case is he is doomed to become a career AAAA ballplayer.