3 under-the-radar SF Giants players off to a good start in 2023

At 16-19, the San Francisco Giants are not exactly where they wanted to be when the 2023 regular season began. Newcomers like Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling were expected to all play key roles on this year's squad.

After all, such a talented group seemed primed to take down the always-dangerous Los Angeles Dodgers, who had lost some premier names in free agency this past offseason and replaced them with the likes of Jason Heyward and David Peralta.

Instead, the team is currently, 5.0 GB from first place with a -21 run differential. Through and through, the club cannot seem to get going. Conforto is hitting .170 and Haniger .200. Manaea sports an ERA that you would typically see from a position player and Stripling already can't hold down a consistent spot in the starting rotation.

Elsewhere on the roster, David Villar, who was widely expected to be the club's everyday third baseman all year long, has already lost his handle on a full-time gig and has a .145 average in just under 100 at-bats. Need I say more?

Fortunately, there are a handful of players whose names have flown under the radar to begin the year, and are quietly putting together solid performances through the first month-plus, including a few names that nobody thought would find such successes during the current campaign.

Let's check out 3 under-the-radar Giants players who are off to good starts in 2023.

3 under-the-radar SF Giants players off to a good start in 2023

2. Pitcher Alex Cobb

After breaking into the league as a promising starting pitcher for the Rays way back in 2011, Cobb began to fade into anonymity once he left Tampa and joined the Baltimore Orioles. The righty played on some bad teams and saw his shine fade and his name no longer held the weight it had in previous years.

Sure enough, the second he left the Orioles, he began a gradual return to form. In 18 starts for the Angels in 2021, he went 8-3 with a 3.76 ERA and an extremely impressive 2.92 FIP. He turned that into a two-year deal (with a club option for a third year) with the Giants and has quietly been solid for the team.

Last year, he had a 3.73 ERA and 107 ERA+ while somehow managing to lower his FIP all the way down to 2.80 which would've put him fifth in the National League amongst qualified starters.

To begin the 2023 campaign, the 35-year-old has looked like a brand new pitcher, which is really saying something after how well he did last year. Through the first seven starts of his year, Cobb has a sparkling 2.01 ERA and 214 ERA+ to go along with a 2.95 FIP. He has struck out 38 batters while walking just six and has continued to limit home runs and keep the ball in the ballpark at the best rate he's had since all the way back in 2014.

Cobb is a "been there, done that" type of pitcher who has been around the league for what feels like forever. While he's never been an All-Star (that could change this year!), he's been a reliable innings-eater for every club he's been a a part of. It's nice to see him putting up such strong numbers as he gradually inches closer to hanging his cleats up.

3 under-the-radar SF Giants players off to a good start in 2023

3. First baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr.

Wade, 29, is another player who took a bit to find his stride in the big leagues, but he's shown time and time again why the Giants were smart to hold on to him through a rough 2022 campaign.

Coming off of a breakout performance in 2021 in which he hit 18 home runs with an .808 OPS and 117 OPS+, Wade came crashing back down to earth last year. In just 77 games, he managed eight home runs with a ghastly .207 average and 88 OPS+.

Fortunately, the Giants did not cut bait after his significant regression. Instead, they tabbed him as their starting first baseman and he has once again exploded offensively.

In 32 games so far, Wade has six home runs and 10 RBI, scoring 14 runs and posting an incredible .949 OPS and 163 OPS+. The latter number alone suggests that he's been 63 percent above league-average at the plate through the first month-plus of the season.

These numbers are great and all, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of Wade's performance so far has been his patience/eye at the dish. After walking in 8.7% of plate appearances in 2021, he bumped the number up to 10.4% last year. To start off this season, his BB% is all the way up to 20.3. He has drawn as many walks (25) as strikeouts so far, which is highly encouraging to see from a player who had previously struggled to draw free passes.