SF Giants undrafted free-agent outfielder earns Pacific Coast League Player of the Month honors for July

Turner Hill continues to thrive in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). On Wednesday, he was recognized as the PCL Player of the Month for July after posting a .422 batting average in 102 plate appearances.

Hill has 'cooled' off in August. He only has a .412 batting average in four games this month, but there is still plenty of time to turn it around.

The Giants have prioritized contact since Buster Posey took over as the president of baseball operations. They have tried to add more contact in free agency, most notably bringing in Luis Arráez in the offseason. They have also targeted strong contact hitters in the draft and in undrafted free agency.

Hill, Dayson Croes, Nate Furman, Trevor Cohen, and Diego Velasquez are just some of the contact-heavy position players to appear in the upper minors this season. Furman was recently called up, and he is still looking for his first hit, but he has strung together some good at-bats in the early going.

SF Giants outfield prospect making a case to be called up following strong July

Could Hill be one of the next names called up? I think there is a good case for that, especially after the Heliot Ramos trade. Drew Gilbert continues to take reps in center field, and Jung Hoo Lee is holding down right field. There are plenty of at-bats available in left field. Grant McCray has seen an uptick in playing time, but the results have not necessarily been there yet.

Hill is making a strong case to make the Giants before the end of the year. Since his promotion to Triple-A, he is hitting .348/.419/.507 (144 wRC+) with eight home runs, 55 RBI, and 58 runs in 342 plate appearances. This includes more walks (36) than strikeouts (29). Hill leads the PCL in batting average.

The left-handed bat has been even better lately. In July, he slashed .422/.490/.611 (189 wRC+) with two home runs, 15 RBI, and 19 runs in 102 plate appearances. He also had eight steals in 10 chances. In every game, it felt like he tallied at least two hits.

In the batter's box, Hill grinds out at-bats. He is a patient hitter, chases at a low rate, and makes a lot of contact on pitches in the zone. That leads to a lot of walks and a lot of balls in play. Hill sprays line drives to all fields, but his power is often limited to doubles and triples.

Interestingly, the Giants also have Bo Davidson and Scott Bandura roaming the outfield, both of whom are viewed as some of the best outfield prospects in the organization. That said, Hill continues to take reps in center field. Perhaps, that is a sign of how they view his defense.

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