SF Giants may need to consider a change in usage with Jung Hoo Lee

Jung Hoo Lee has already tallied five hitless at-bats against left-handed pitching. It is far too early to draw any conclusions about this season, but it is a continuation of a trend so far, which may prompt the SF Giants to consider changing his usage.

SF Giants may need to consider a change in usage with Jung Hoo Lee

The Giants struggled badly against left-handed pitching in 2025. That continued on Opening Day, as they mustered only two hits in six innings against Max Fried. Again, it is only one game and a very good opposing pitcher. It is too early to draw hard conclusions about the 2026 season.

That said, if the lineup against left-handed pitching features Lee, Luis Arráez, Patrick Bailey, Willy Adames, and Harrison Bader, they might repeat their struggles in these matchups.

Adames and Bader are not necessarily bad against southpaw pitchers. Adames has a .696 OPS in his career in these matchups. Bader has generally been effective against lefties, but that has not been the case over the past two seasons, as he has put up a .651 OPS.

There are too many suboptimal matchups. It puts a strain on the rest of the group to produce. If they do not, then the results will not look too dissimilar to what they put up against Fried on Opening Day.

They will likely never go back to platooning as aggressively as they did a few seasons ago. However, nearly every team platoons to some degree. For instance, the New York Yankees used Paul Goldschmidt in the leadoff spot against Robbie Ray on Friday. Goldschmidt was among the best hitters against left-handed pitching in 2025.

It is not necessarily about platooning, but trying to raise the floor of the lineup. Jung Hoo Lee might be cornering himself into a platoon role. He has slashed .232/.263/.333 (67 wRC+) with a 3.7 percent walk rate, 16.6 percent strikeout rate, and .101 ISO against left-handed pitching in his career.

In fairness, he only has 217 plate appearances against southpaw pitchers in his career, but these numbers are not encouraging. If he played above-average defense at a premium position, such as center field or shortstop, teams might be willing to overlook the matchup issue.

That is also not the case with Lee. Teams do not want to give up defense at any position, but right field is not viewed as a premium position.

This is what the numbers say. If the Giants want to put Lee in a position to succeed, then they should minimize his exposure against left-handed pitching. That said, they do not have any obvious platoon options on the bench, so platooning Lee likely will not happen anytime soon. That is one of the problems with having a bench full of right-handed hitters that do not offer any type of platoon leverage.