SF Giants infielder has thrust himself into the NL Rookie of the Year conversation

Who could have envisioned in spring training that we would be talking about SF Giants infielder Tyler Fitzgerald's candidacy for the NL Rookie of the Year Award in late August? Nonetheless, here we are.

SF Giants infielder has thrust himself into the NL Rookie of the Year conversation

Fitzgerald has been one of the hottest players in baseball since homering in five straight games in July. This led to him being recognized as the NL Rookie of the Month last month. That was an easy decision as he posted a 1.239 OPS with eight home runs and 15 RBI in 59 plate appearances.

Players can get hot for an extended period of time like that. However, it is tough to stay productive all season. Fitzgerald's 2024 season did not take off until the second half of the year. He was buried on the depth chart by Nick Ahmed and Brett Wisely. In fairness to Wisely, he did have a strong stretch of play at the plate before cooling off.

Fitzgerald took over and has not looked back. Overall, he is slashing .312/.364/.603 (168 wRC+) with 14 home runs, 28 RBI, and 38 runs in 217 plate appearances this season. This includes a 6.5 percent walk rate, 28.1 percent strikeout rate, and .291 ISO. Fitzgerald has also swiped 14 bases in 17 opportunities.

The righty bat's 168 wRC+ leads all qualified rookies with at least 100 plate appearances by a considerable margin. Jhonkensy Noel (142 wRC+) of the Cleveland Guardians is second to Fitzgerald in that category.

That stat should carry a lot of weight in Fitzgerald's favor if he can maintain anything close to that rate.

Perhaps, another stat that should carry plenty of weight is the fact that Fitzgerald's +3.3 fWAR is second among all rookies. Jackson Merrill (3.7 fWAR) of the San Diego Padres leads in that category, but he has done so in more than twice as many at-bats.

This is not to take anything away from Merrill. He is having an impressive rookie season and is likely one of the frontrunners for the NL Rookie of the Year along with Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are both having tremendous seasons and were rightfully recognized as NL All-Stars just a few short months after their careers began.

Merrill and Skenes have been in the national spotlight for much of the season, so they have that in their favor. That said, Fitzgerald's case is certainly gaining steam. It is much stronger than it was even a few weeks ago.

If the Giants rookie infielder continues to produce like this, it might make for a very difficult choice at the end of the year. Awards voters tend to put more weight into how a player finishes the season and Fitzgerald's second half has been about as good as anyone in baseball.