Young SF Giants infielder making a strong audition in final weeks of season

The SF Giants have had a revolving door at second base all season. They have not gotten much production at the position, but Casey Schmitt is making a strong case at the end of 2024 to be in the picture for next season.

The Giants began the year with veteran Thairo Estrada as their starting second baseman. He had been a solid contributor the last several seasons, but unfortunately he struggled a lot this season hitting just .217/.247/.343 with 9 home runs and 47 RBI. This eventually led to him being placed on waivers and then outrighted to Triple-A when no team wanted him.

Estrada also dealt with injury struggles throughout the year. When he was on the shelf, that provided opportunities for Brett Wisely and Casey Schmitt. Both Wisely and Schmitt have shown flashes of productivity this season, but neither has been especially consistent.

As of late though, the 25-year-old Schmitt has been on a tear and could potentially be making a strong case to make next year's roster.

Casey Schmitt is making a strong case for 2025

Schmitt's overall 2024 numbers are not super impressive as he is only hitting .240/.267/.460 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI in 100 at-bats. However, over his last 15 games he has a .364 batting average and has hit a couple of home runs including an impressive one in Arizona last night.

We know that Schmitt can be a streaky hitter. When he was first called up in 2023 he tore the cover off the ball and there were some who even believed he could take over for Brandon Crawford at shortstop. His bat went ice cold after that.

Even when Schmitt is not hitting well, he can still provide value with his glove. He is very strong defensively and even though the Matt Chapman extension closes off third base as a path for him, second base and shortstop are still wide open.

For him to be an everyday starter though, he is going to have to get on base more often. While his aggressiveness at the plate can be an asset when he is seeing the ball well, he has only drawn 3 walks all season which does not seem sustainable.

While he can be streaky at the plate, Schmitt has shown enough this year for the Giants to strongly consider him as an option at second base next year or at the very least as a bench player. The fact that he provides solid defense at second, third, and short while also having some upside at the plate when he gets hot could make the former SDSU Aztec a valuable player for the team going forward.