Home run projection snubs new SF Giants shortstop Willy Adames

The SF Giants have several legitimate power threats in their lineup going into 2025, but MLB.com snubbed shortstop Willy Adames in their recent article predicting who the top home run hitter will be for each MLB team this season.

In the article, the writer predicts that Giants third baseman Matt Chapman will lead the team in home runs again with 26 homers, one less than he hit last season. They also listed outfielder Heliot Ramos as someone to keep an eye on given the fact that he hit 22 homers last year in just 121 games. The full list can be viewed here.

These are both perfectly fine and reasonable responses, but Adames probably deserved a mention given the fact that he has been a consistent power threat over the last four seasons. MLB.com only listed their predicted leader and a player to keep an eye on for each team so they were limited to just two players per team.

SF Giants shortstop Willy Adames snubbed by MLB.com

When the Giants signed Adames to a franchise record contract in December, it was hard not to be excited about the power he brings to the table. Last season with the Milwaukee Brewers he blasted 32 big ones and he has hit at least 24 or more home runs in each of the last four seasons.

Having that sort of pop in the lineup will be huge for the Giants which makes it interesting that MLB.com believes Ramos is a more likely candidate to lead the team in home runs than Adames. Perhaps they are assuming that Adames will see a bit of a drop off in his home runs numbers since he will be playing half of his games at pitcher-friendly Oracle Park.

Ramos is definitely a legitimate candidate to lead the team in home runs if he can stay healthy. He was called up in May of last season so he was robbed of about a month of games but still reached the 20-homer mark in August. If he had been with the team for the entire season he and Chapman may have been neck and neck for the home run crown.

The article does note the fact that Ramos fared much better against left-handed pitching last season so he is going to have to make some adjustments if he wants to perform better against righties. He will also have to deal with the fact that opponents now have a year of film on him and know his tendencies so they will be adjusting to him as well.

That is why Adames seems more likely to challenge Chapman for home run leader just because at this point in his career the 29-year-old's tendencies are already known and yet he has continued to provide consistent power.

We will have to see how things play out, but it would not come as a huge surprise if Adames led the Giants in home runs in 2025. Who knows, maybe he will even become the first Giant to hit 30 home runs since Barry Bonds did it back in 2004.