San Francisco Giants: Grading the newcomers on their Tuesday debuts

The San Francisco Giants added three new faces to the MLB roster before Tuesday’s game. So how did they do?

In a busy day of roster shuffling on Tuesday, the San Francisco Giants added outfielder Mac Williamson, reliever Williams Jerez and infielder Donovan Solano to the active roster.

Whether that provided a spark of sorts or through sheer coincidence, the Giants then went out and destroyed the Colorado Rockies with a 14-4 victory in the series opener.

Let’s see how that trio fared in their first game with the MLB squad in 2019:

LF Mac Williamson

Role: Starting left fielder, No. 6 hitter
Stats: 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB

Williamson effectively forced the Giants hand on a call-up with a three-homer game on Monday, and he didn’t miss a beat in his first MLB game of the season.

After grounding out the pitcher in his first at-bat, he laced a three-run home run over the left field wall in his second trip to the plate to give the Giants a 4-1 lead.

An inning later, he added another RBI with a single to center field off reliever Yency Almonte that plated Brandon Belt as the Giants led swelled to 7-2.

He closed out his day with a walk in the eighth inning and another groundout to the pitcher in the ninth to finish up a memorable return to the big leagues.

Grade: A

Things really couldn’t have gone any better for Williamson as he tries to stake claim to the everyday left field job. As long as he keeps swinging a hot bat, he should be a regular in the middle of the lineup.

RP Williams Jerez

Role: Middle reliever, pitched the 9th inning
Stats: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

The Giants did well to get Jerez into the game in a low-pressure situation.

The 6’4″, 205-pound lefty needed 23 pitches to get three outs in the ninth inning, throwing 14 fastballs (94.8 mph) and nine sliders (87.7 mph), according to Brooks Baseball.

While he wasn’t locating either pitch particularly well on Tuesday, the stuff is clearly there for him to succeed at this level.

And even without pinpoint stuff, he was able to keep the Rockies hitters out of the hit column, and he buckled down once a runner got into scoring position.

With Chris Iannetta on second base with one out, he got a flyout from Trevor Story and a groundout from Daniel Murphy to end the game.

Grade: C+

Limiting free passes is obviously going to be key going forward, and perhaps nerves were to blame in this one. It’s easy to see his potential, though, and he’ll be one to watch going forward.

IF Donovan Solano

Role: Reserve, did not play
Stats: DNP

Solano did not get into the game after replacing utility man Yangervis Solarte on the roster.

In general, the 31-year-old will likely see less action than Solarte did, filling a more traditional backup role.

Still, he showed enough at Triple-A with a .322/.392/.437 line in 97 plate appearances to think he can be a useful piece off the bench.

Grade: Incomplete

There figures to be plenty of these incremental moves throughout the season as the Giants continue to search for answers on a roster filled with aging stars and fringe big leaguers.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with shuffling the roster from time to time, especially when guys in the minors are making a case for a promotion.

All three of these new faces have a chance to contribute, and both Williamson and Jerez can seize future roles with the team if they perform well in the short-term.