Los Gatos native is turning some heads in SF Giants spring training with his hot bat

The SF Giants probably do not have room on the big league roster for Jake Holton, but that does not change the fact that the Los Gatos native is turning some heads in spring training with his performance so far.

Holton had the first multi-hit game of any Giants player in spring training and prior to Monday's game against the Chicago White Sox his numbers have been very strong as he has five hits in 14 plate appearances with a double and three runs batted in while striking out just twice.

He added another hit and RBI to his total against Chicago.

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Born in San Jose, Holton was voted MVP in his senior year at Los Gatos High School and went on to play collegiately at Santa Barbara City College and eventually Creighton University. The Detroit Tigers selected him in the tenth round of the 2019 MLB Draft and he had some decent seasons with the organization, making it as high as Double-A.

He became a minor league free agent in the offseason and the Giants decided to scoop him up on a minor league deal. The 28-year-old had a really strong showing in the Dominican Winter League as he slashed .419/.510/.674 with two home runs and eight runs batted in across 13 games.

It seems he is now carrying that hot bat from the DR to Scottsdale where he is a non-roster invitee.

Despite this, Holton is not going to make the big league roster unless three or four guys ahead of him got injured. His primary position is first base and the Giants arguably have too many first basemen as it is.

Holton can also play the corner outfield spots so he is basically like a Jerar Encarnacion type who can play three positions and maybe serve as a designated hitter if needed. But with Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge also in the mix, Holton would have to leapfrog a number of guys to make the team.

It may not be out of the question for him to start the year off in Triple-A Sacramento. He is getting close to 30 so now may be the perfect time to see how he fares against some stronger competition. Maybe if he starts the year hot in Sacramento and Devers goes down, the Bay Area kid could end up making his big league debut with his hometown team.

No matter what, it is nice to see him performing well so far and it's always fun when a local kid can help out the team they grew up cheering for.