Farhan Zaidi deserves credit for SF Giants’ potential diamond in the rough find

While former SF Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was an incredibly polarizing figure by the end of his tenure in San Francisco, he made some moves that really paid off for the Giants after he was replaced by Buster Posey. Signing undrafted outfielder Turner Hill might just be one of them. 

The Giants just called Hill up after he had a 26-game hitting streak going in Triple-A Sacramento. On the season in the minors he was hitting an impressive .352/.426/.530 with nine home runs, 68 runs batted in, and 24 stolen bases. He struck out 36 times  and walked 45 times which is exactly what you want to see from a contact-first bat like Hill.

He just recorded his first big-league hit on Sunday in an otherwise embarrassing game and he should get quite a few opportunities to prove himself the rest of the season. Left field is going to have open auditions after the Heliot Ramos trade cleared the way out there so Hill should get a lot of chances.

Hill likely isn’t with the Giants without Zaidi though. As Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic wrote in a recent article, “The Giants scout who identified Hill wasn’t an amateur area scout or a pro scout who happened to see him play. It was Farhan Zaidi.” 

Baggarly notes that Zaidi flagged him based on his low strikeout rate and high on-base percentage which is the same combo that the Giants have prioritized in the MLB Draft and in prospects they’ve acquired via trade.

Farhan Zaidi did some positive things with the Giants

Say what you will about Zaidi, but he certainly could find diamonds in the rough. Guys like LaMonte Wade Jr. or Mike Yastrzemski who other teams didn’t really want ended up becoming solid, well-liked Giants. 

He could also make savvy trades at times like his deal that sent Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Robbie Ray. In turn, the Giants were just able to snag two solid prospects from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Ray.

Of course, there were also the openers which many fans didn’t like or the constant roster churn and reliance on platoons. Yet, one could argue the Giants could use a little bit more of all that with the current roster. The Giants haven’t tried to add at the margins a ton and their big swings, like signing Willy Adames or trading for Rafael Devers, have not panned out.

We will have to see how Hill turns out, but the fact that the Giants signed him for just $15,000 and he’s gone on to reach the big leagues is a remarkable story and is a reminder of one of Zaidi’s best traits from his time leading San Francisco’s baseball operations.

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