Ex-SF Giants player's power surge with new team reflects poorly on coaching staff

Former SF Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has gotten off to a hot start with his new team, the Kansas City Royals. His power surge does not reflect well on San Francisco's much-maligned coaching staff.

Yastrzemski has only spent 25 games with Kansas City, but he already has seven home runs with his new team including a leadoff one last night:

Mike Yastrzemski's power surge with Royals reflects poorly on SF Giants coaching staff

Keep in mind that in 97 games with the Giants this season, Yastrzemski had eight home runs. He is now slashing .282/.370/.654 with seven homers and 13 runs batted in for the Royals as he has been providing consistent thump from the leadoff spot in the lineup.

Our own Jeff Young looked at Yastrzemski's power surge recently to see why exactly Yastrzemski was having success with his new team. He noted the fact that Yastrzemski is no longer having to play in the confines of Oracle Park which is notoriously tough on left-handed hitters. He also noted the fact that Yastrzemski has always been a streaky hitter throughout his career while also acknowledging the popular belief amongst segments of the fanbase that the coaching staff is to blame.

All of those factors are still true, but the better Yastrzemski does it is only going to feed the narrative that San Francisco's hitting coaches are not getting the most out of their lineup.

Hitting coach Pat Burrell has been under fire from fans throughout the season with how bad the offense has been at times. He has come to the defense of the lineup but it definitely seems like he could be a victim of a coaching shakeup that seems likely to occur this offseason.

Regardless, it is really nice to see Yastrzemski have this kind of success with the Royals. He was a really good Giant for a long time and always went about things the right way so he deserves all the success he is currently enjoying.

He is also setting himself up nicely for free agency. By showing teams what he can do away from Oracle Park and the kind of power numbers he can put up he is positioning himself to earn a nice contract from a team in need of a corner outfielder.

We will see if the Giants do end up making changes to the coaching staff this offseason, but the fact that Yastrzemski has seemingly blossomed since leaving the Giants is only going to fuel the sense, fair or not, that the coaching staff is failing to get the most out of this roster.

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