Rafael Devers' heater with SF Giants is incredible, but it comes with a big question mark

It’s been an absolute joy to watch SF Giants slugger Rafael Devers at the plate recently. He is hitting the snot out of the ball and seems like he is going to hit a home run pretty much every time he steps into the batter's box. 

In his last seven games prior to Sunday's contest he has hit an absurd .385/.515/1.154 with six home runs and 15 runs batted in. He's also been a great leader for a group of young players. Not only that,m but he has played in every single game this season after doing the same last year. This is the guy that the Giants dreamed of when they acquired him from the Boston Red Sox last year, but the question remains: can he do it when it matters?

Devers going on a heater like this at the end of a meaningless season at least makes the Giants a lot more watchable as they try to avoid losing 100 games, but since joining the Giants he has performed really when when the team is out of contention but has struggled when the pressure is on.

The Giants will need Rafael Devers to do what he's doing now when it matters

Let’s take a look at last season. The Giants got Devers in the middle of June. At the time they were leading the National League West but after that trade they went on an absolute tailspin in June and July. Devers hit .204/.345/.408 in June and .230/.337/.368 with just two homers in July.

The Giants went 9-15 in July which put them under .500 and let to the team selling several players at the trade deadline. By August the pressure was off because many assumed the team was toast, but that’s when they started to heat up at least towards the end of the month.

Devers hit .291/.397/.592 with nine home runs and 20 runs batted in over the course of August and by early September the Giants miraculously got themselves back into contention for an NL Wild Card spot.

Yet, the team cooled off as September went on and finished with an 81-81 record. Devers hit .200/.321/.453 with nine homers and 16 runs batted in during September.

So while Devers’ insane run as of late has been awesome, what is really going to define his tenure with the Giants is how he performs when the pressure is on. If the Giants are in the hunt for the playoffs in a future season will he be able to provide the goods? If he can, then maybe the Giants will finally make it back to the playoffs thanks to him and his bat.

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