SF Giants young infielder takes home Rookie of the Month honors

July was a pretty incredible month for SF Giants rookie Tyler Fitzgerald. He capped off an impressive stretch of play with MLB recognizing him as the NL Rookie of the Month.

SF Giants young infielder takes home Rookie of the Month honors

Colt Keith of the Detroit Tigers took home the honor for the AL after posting a .322/.404/.644 line with seven home runs, 17 RBI, and 18 runs in 99 plate appearances. He had been seeing time as the Tigers' second baseman on an everyday basis.

On the other hand, Fitzgerald began the month as a utility bat, but he has quickly and impressively forced his way into the team's plans for 2024 and beyond.

The Giants briefly sent down Fitzgerald in June, but the Thairo Estrada injury led to him being recalled. With Nick Ahmed getting released in July, playing time opened up at both middle infield spots and Fitzgerald has taken full advantage of that opportunity.

Fitzgerald's hot streak did not even begin until the second week of July. Since then, he has been on a tear, slashing .321/.390/.849 (238 wRC+) with eight home runs, 15 RBI, and 13 runs in 59 late appearances to cap off an impressive month. The right-handed bat blasted a home run in five straight games and had a multi-homer effort against the Colorado Rockies on July 26.

The 26-year-old infielder has arguably been one of the hottest hitters in baseball during that stretch. Plus, he can play multiple positions, so he will continue to see his name in the lineup, especially if he continues to perform like he has.

The next question is how he fits into the team's everyday plans. That can be answered down the road, but he has done an excellent job putting himself into that conversation.

When teams go through retools and rebuilds, they need a little luck to go with a lot of skill. It would be a stretch to say that anyone could have envisioned a former fourth-round pick putting up these numbers, but this is the type of good fortune that can really help a team improve quickly.

Fitzgerald joins Luis González (2022), Buster Posey (2010), and Pedro Feliz (2001) as Giants players to win Rookie of the Month honors since 2000.