San Francisco Giants: A way too early look at the 2022 outfield

In a season where solid-hitting outfielders have been hard to come by for the San Francisco Giants, we look ahead three years to a possible homegrown outfield that could be one of the best in the MLB.

The 2019 season has been nothing more than a long tryout to fill some of the empty slots that the San Francisco Giants have had in the outfield.

Steven Duggar has found his home in center field, Kevin Pillar seems to be the short-term fix in right field for the season, and left field has frankly been all over the place. Currently, seven-year minor league veteran Mike Yastrzemski is doing a good job of trying to solidify himself into that spot with his play as of late.

In a season where consistent offense from outfielders is hard to come by for the San Francisco Giants, we look ahead three years where a possible homegrown outfield could be one of the best in the MLB. When looking at the future of this current outfield, it seems that Steven Duggar is the only player that may stick around for the journey to the 2022 season.

Don’t worry though, because this is part of the Giants plan. Pillar seemed to be a piece that was brought into the clubhouse to appease Giants fans after the slow start to the 2019 season. Yastrzemski may be apart of the roster in 2022, but likely as more of a utility outfielder than an everyday starter.

The farm system may be ranked 28th, per Baseball America, but with top prospects at the outfield positions, we may soon see the first Giants homegrown outfield of the 21st century. Ahead we will look at each of the three spots to see who the starter at those positions might be on Opening Day in 2022.

The Revolving Door of Left Field

The reason I call it the revolving door of left field is because that is exactly what it has been. We’ve seen everyone from guys who aren’t currently in the organization anymore like Connor Joe to backup catcher Stephen Vogt throw out there in an attempt to muster some offense at the position.

Currently, it seems that Yastrzemski has made left field his home until his play falters or someone else supplants him. But who will be the guy in 2022?

The answer is Austin Slater.

The 26-year-old seems bound to re-join the Giants sometime soon thanks to a stellar .296/.431/.544 batting line that includes 12 doubles and 10 home runs in 211 plate appearances.

With Yastrzemski exceeding expectations and Slater reworking his swing and benefitting from more time in the minors to perfect it, it makes sense that he has not received a promotion to this point, but it’s only a matter of time.

Slater has always been a good contact hitter, but there were questions about his power even though he showed flashes of it from time to time. With his new swing, Slater has already doubled his home run total at Triple-A last year in 26 fewer at-bats.

He seems to have unlocked the power that the Giants wanted him to find and with a continuance of solid play and improvement at the major league level, there’s no reason to think he can’t be the starting left fielder at the MLB level in 2022.

Center Field

This seems to be the easiest spot to analyze at the moment with Steven Duggar having a lock on this position for the foreseeable future.

However, with top prospect Heliot Ramos tearing up the minor league ranks and the newly-drafted Hunter Bishop capable of manning center field, things are not as definite going forward.

So far this season Duggar has a line of .238/.279/.345 which is not horrible for a guy playing his first full season in the majors. He has shown decent contact but lacks power on a team that desperately needs it, tallying just three home runs in 223 at-bats.

The bright spot is his glove. Duggar has great speed and the instincts to play in center field at this level. He has shown this so much so that Kevin Pillar was moved to right field to continue Duggar’s development and experience in the center seat. Duggar has a great glove, but in a league that is becoming overpowered by the home run ball will a “great glove” be enough to keep him in that role come 2022?

I believe it will be, but a lot will have to go right for Mr. Duggar.

One thing working in his favor is the fact that most around baseball view Bishop as a corner outfielder going forward as opposed to a center fielder, which was the position he played in college.

However, Duggar needs to be able to hit for a decent average if he is going to be the future leadoff piece that he has the potential to be. It’s unlikely he will ever be a real power threat, but if he can bat in the .270-.300 range, he will be the Giants starting center fielder on opening day in 2022.

The Battle of Right Field

The position of right field is one that is currently occupied by Kevin Pillar. With a sub-.220 batting average and free agency looming after the 2020 season, it seems unlikely that he be on the team come 2022.

However, the San Francisco Giants have a lot of quality players in the farm system that can fill this void. Heliot Ramos seemed like he was going to be the easy choice for this slot, but the Giants move in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft may prove otherwise. There now is a dark horse contender to fill out the final spot of this homegrown outfield in 2022. Let’s take a look at the two contenders to fill this role:

Heliot Ramos: The Front Runner

Heliot Ramos has the biggest probability to be in this position when the season opens in 2022. In fact, with the way he is currently playing for the San Jose Giants, he may find himself on the roster sooner than that. Currently, Ramos is batting .297/.411/.574 in High-A ball. His power is off the charts as well, and he’s hitting a home run roughly once every 14 at-bats. With his continued development and outstanding play, I would put money on the fact that Ramos is manning the Levi’s Landing foreground come 2022. However, the newly acquired ASU product may have something to say about that.

Hunter Bishop: The Dark Horse Prospect

A left-handed power hitting outfielder that is a Serra High School alum and played his college ball at ASU… sound familiar? The Giants surely had flashbacks of #25 when they made Hunter Bishop the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft. While at Arizona State, the center fielder had a batting line of .347/.473/.765 this spring. He was also sixth in the nation with 22 home runs. Bishop hasn’t played a lick of pro baseball yet, but it is realistic for him to be ready for major league ball come 2022. He may not be on the Opening Day roster, but I would not be surprised if the Giants are still starved enough for home run hitters to call up Bishop and put him in one of the league’s best ballparks for left-handed power.