San Francisco Giants: Mike Yastrzemski’s first week as a pro

The San Francisco Giants have a new outfielder in rookie Mike Yastrzemski. Let’s take a look back at his first week in the majors.

As is the case with most rookies closer to the age of 30 than 20, San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has had a long road to the majors.

Originally drafted by the Orioles in the 14th round of the 2013 draft, the 28-year-old spent the first seven seasons of his pro career in the Baltimore farm system.

He reached Double-A in his first full professional season and he split the past three seasons between Double-A and Triple-A before he was traded to the Giants during spring training in exchange for pitcher Tyler Herb.

The move generated more buzz that it would have if not for the fact that this unproven minor league talent also happened to be the grandson of 18-time All-Star and Hall of Famer Carl  Yastrzemski.

The younger Yaz was sent to Triple-A Sacramento to start the season where he hit .316/.414/.676 with 11 doubles and 12 home runs in 163 plate appearances over 40 games.

That performance, combined with the fact that the Giants have had well-documented difficulties finding an MLB-worthy left fielder, has given Yastrzemski an opportunity to show what he can do at the MLB level.

In eight games in the majors, he has gone 8-for-29 while posting a .276/.371/.483 batting line with one double, one triple, and one home run.

While he’s striking out at a 25.7 percent rate, he has also drawn four walks to post a solid .371 on-base percentage that would lead the Giants if he qualified. He has also seen time at all three outfield spots defensively.

He went 3-for-4 with a double in his second career game. A few days later, he smashed his first career home run against the team that drafted him.

The sample size is small, and it’s still too early to tell if he’ll be a cornerstone player or even a contributing piece in the years to come. His play has at least proved that he belongs on an MLB roster, and I’d expect him to keep his spot in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future.

On a veteran-heavy team, Yaz has been a fun guy to keep an eye on, serving as a bright spot amid the mounting losses.