4 SF Giants who are on fire in spring training, 2 who have looked lost

The SF Giants have the best record of any team in spring training so far. While that counts for absolute zilch, and it bears reminding that the Giants had the best spring training record last year before finishing at 81-81 in the regular season, the individual performances of certain players absolutely do matter.

New manager Tony Vitello is watching his players like a hawk and first impressions can often stick. The guys who have impressed so far may be on their way to the Opening Day roster while those who have disappointed may struggle to dig themselves out of a hole.

Let's take a look at the players who have stood out, both for good and bad reasons, thus far.

Biggest SF Giants stand-outs, both good and bad, from spring training

Trevor McDonald

Coming into spring training, the younger starting pitchers in camp knew there would probably be an opening or two for them in the bullpen. So far, Trevor McDonald has taken advantage of that opportunity. He has only give up two earned runs in 10 innings of work so far and has struck out 11 batters. He has given the Giants a tough decision on whether he should make the Opening Day roster.

Luis Matos

Everyone knew that Luis Matos needed a big spring to make the team since he is out of minor league options. He has delivered on that so far, racking up nine hits in 33 at-bats including two home runs. He has only struck out once in 33 trips to the plate so he is trending towards earning a spot on the bench.

Jared Oliva

The Giants have not had a speedster like Jared Oliva in quite some time. He has 11 hits in 30 at-bats and has already stolen nine bases while only being caught once. The way people are talking about him feels a lot like how people talked about Christian Koss in spring training last year so maybe Oliva can snag a roster spot.

Michael Fulmer

Will the bullpen competition being so wide open, pretty much everyone had a shot coming into camp. Michael Fulmer has taken full advantage of the opportunity by allowing just two runs in eight innings of work while striking out 12 batters.

Now, let's take a look at two guys who were hoping their Cactus League was a little less prickly.

Tyler Fitzgerald

While it would have been a bit of a long shot for Tyler Fitzgerald to make the team with Christian Koss and Casey Schmitt ahead of him on the depth chart, he has six hits in 31 at-bats even though he has looked a little better as of late. He still has to wish he could have done more early on to impress the new coaching staff.

Hayden Birdsong

Birdsong was looking to rebound after a tough 2025 campaign, but he struggled in his first two spring outings and then news came out that he is dealing with an elbow issue in his throwing arm which is never good news.

Spring training is not over yet so the guys who have done well can still drop the ball and the guys who are struggling have some time to change the narrative, but time is quickly running out.