Young SF Giants utility player making strong case for more playing time

The SF Giants have had to scramble to find a replacement for Nick Ahmed since he went on the IL. It seems like the current occupant of the shortstop position, Brett Wisely, is making a very strong case to get more playing time.

Young SF Giants utility player making strong case for more playing time

When Ahmed went on the IL with a wrist injury earlier in May, the Giants cycled through a few different players trying to replace him. They first called up Casey Schmitt who did not hit well enough to warrant keeping in the big leagues. Then, they called up Marco Luciano who has done good things at the plate but has played just terribly on defense, making error after error in crucial situations.

The latest player to fill in has been the 25 year old utility man Brett Wisely. Wisely has always been thought of as a glove-first kind of player who provides value with his ability to play all over the diamond, not necessarily his prowess with the bat. That reputation may be changing as Wisely has been tearing it up at the plate recently.

It is a very small sample size, but in 16 at-bats in the big leagues in 2024, Wisely has 7 hits in 16 at-bats with one home run and 4 RBI. This is not coming out of nowhere, either. In Triple-A this season his batting average was .311 with a .403 on base percentage, and 4 homers and 14 RBI. Basically, he is continuing his hot hitting in the minors at the big league level.

Plus, he has yet to make an error with the Giants this season even though he has only played in 8 games. He has proven he can play a solid shortstop and is versatile enough to play second base, first base, and center field. Compare that with Luciano who has already made 5 errors in 8 games this season. If Luciano cannot prove that he can fix his defense, then the Giants are going to ride the hot hand of Wisely more and more especially if he keeps hitting as well as he is.

It is still very early, but in a small sample size Brett Wisely is making a great impression and could continue to be the starting shortstop if he continues to play this way.