SF Giants forced Casey Schmitt to adjust and now he is absolutely flourishing

SF Giants infielder and designated hitter Casey Schmitt entered Sunday's series finale against the Miami Marlins with two self-inflicted baserunning blunders and a two-run home run in the series. So when he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning with runners on second and third, Schmitt was looking to even the count. He did just that, blasting a three-run, no-doubt shot to left-center field. It was his second in two days, and it completely brushed aside his two previous slip-ups (pun intended).

"It led to the strategy of hit a home run, that way they can't bak pick you at second base, which I think is an excellent strategy," said manager Tony Vitello.

"Just a little too aggressive on my part. I should have learned from it, now I’m gonna learn from it," said Schmitt following the Giants' 6-2 win over Miami.

Schmitt's spot on the Opening Day roster was pretty much guaranteed. He'd shown in his previous two seasons that he belonged on a major-league roster. But the position he would contribute at was a much bigger question, given the huge sum of money the front office spent to build an infield they view as the identity of the franchise for the foreseeable future.

The four usual starters around the diamond — Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Luis Arraez and Rafael Devers — will make over $90 million this season, which accounts for over 40% of the team's total payroll. Therefore, the initial thought coming into the season was that Schmitt would fill a platoon role and give this team a boost in the late innings.

But with the concerns surrounding Devers' hamstring injury coming out of spring training and the coaching staff’s choice to handle it with an abundance of care, Schmitt started the first seven games at first. Even though his numbers over those seven games didn't jump off the stat sheet (.678 OPS), Tony Vitello then decided to use him as the DH, uncharted territory for Schmitt. But if there is one trait that has defined Schmitt's career so far, it's his ability to adapt, and he's taken it to another level this season.

Wherever needed, Schmitt has delivered

Schmitt has basically played every position in the infield during his four-year tenure with the Giants. He played some games at shortstop in his first two years in the league before the Giants went after Willy Adames in 2024 free agency. He's filled in for Matt Chapman at third base. Last season, he started most of his games at second while also stepping in at first. And so far this season, once Devers was back and healthy, he's served as the designated hitter.

While it represents a huge advantage for a team to have a player capable of playing everywhere around the diamond, it can be difficult for the player not to know where he's going to play day in and day out. Alternating between different positions within the infield is one thing, but shifting to a DH role is a whole other challenge. Players usually use defense as a way to distract themselves from their previous at-bats and avoid dwelling on them. But when you're alone in the dugout, it can be harder to take your mind off it. So after playing 13 games in that new role, Schmitt pointed out the importance of building a new routine.

“Just developing a little routine. I’ve developed my own routine when I’m DHing. Just sticking to it, it’s pretty simple and just not trying to do too much. Stay warm, stay active. I pace a lot, so I’ll be walking up and down the dugout during during the innings we’re on defense, just keeping my legs warm and staying locked in," Schmitt said the Giants' 6-2 win over Miami.

Schmitt also shared that it was against the Orioles, in his second game in his new role, that he came up with a new way of staying warm and locked in between his times at the plate. His initial strategy was to go to the batting cage, but the way the team facilities are organized in Baltimore forced him to devise a new approach.

"The batting cage was so far away from the locker room. I did once where I ran to the cage while we were on defense and I got there and I was pretty tired and by the time I looked up it was already one out in the inning. So I was like ‘damn this is crazy’, so by the time I got back I was already up in two batters. So it was a little long so what we did was, we had a tee and a net in the locker room so I would just go in the locker room and hit off the tee. I felt good at the plate , and I just kind of kept it going with that."

Across his first 13 games in that spot, his approach has appeared rather effective. He's slashing .288/.321/.558 with an .879 OPS, three home runs and nine RBI. By comparison, though in bigger sample sizes, he has a .623 OPS in 49 games as a shortstop, a .626 OPS in 25 games as a first baseman, a .641 OPS in 84 games as a second baseman and an .834 OPS in 64 games as a third baseman. In Game 2 against the Marlins last week, his only start at third this season, he went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and a walk.

Schmitt has been one of the team’s most consistent power bats

It's no secret that this Giants team has lacked power. Even though the offense has heated up over the last couple of weeks, they still rank tied for last in total home runs with 19, and their team OPS mark of .668 is higher than only the underperforming Mets' and Phillies'.

With Matt Chapman and Willy Adames both struggling to provide power on a consistent basis, and Devers hardly providing any so far, Schmitt has been their most consistent and reliable contributor. Following his three-run shot against the Marlins on Sunday, he now leads the team in home runs (4), ranks second in RBI (13), and has the highest OPS (.892) among regular starters.

It felt like things finally clicked for Schmitt in the Marlins series after he saw a couple of nice swings that had the potential to leave the park, or at least do damage, stay in it. But instead of panicking and trying to rebuild everything, Schmitt, in his fourth season in the league, elected to trust the process.

“I think just trusting in my swing. The last couple of series I think I’ve been pretty close, but yeah just trusting in my swing. I think younger mw would have gone to the batting cage and tried to change everything to try and do something.” 

Sticking to his plan has paid dividends for the 27-year-old so far this season. His 91 mph average exit velocity (75th percentile), 13.1 Barrel% (81st percentile), and his 49.2 Hard-Hit% (83rd percentile) are all career highs. And in addition to leading the Giants in home runs, his eight doubles rank fourth in the National League.

The thing with Schmitt is that he used to swing at every slightly favorable pitch he saw. Now, he looks way more disciplined at the plate, especially against lefties. Schmitt isn't the type of player a coach would send up to hit against a southpaw with the game on the line — at least he wasn't. He finished last season with a mediocre .601 OPS against left-handers. Yes, the sample size is still rather small — just 23 at-bats — but Schmitt is hitting .435/.480/.696 with a 1.176 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season.

Another testament to his improved ability at the plate is the way he sees pitches, more specifically offspeed pitches. Two of his four homers have come off changeups, and he's batting .600 against that pitch this season. Last season, he did not hit a single home run off a changeup and batted just .185 against it.

But despite all the improvements Schmitt has done at the plate, reliever JT Brubaker still isn't happy with one thing: the way he celebrates his home runs.

“Why don’t you show love to the bullpen after you hit a home run? Is it just something you forget about or you don’t love the staff?" said Brubaker after Schmitt hit his first one of the series. “I forget every time, I don’t think I’ve done it once. I forget every single time and I don’t know why," answered Schmitt.

Schmitt didn't wait long to redeem himself. He hit another one the next day and, this time, pointed to the bullpen, probably much to Brubaker's delight.

One thing is for sure: no matter how he celebrates, Giants fans are really loving watching Casey Schmitt swing the bat right now.

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