Why new SF Giants prospect will likely receive an extended look in the outfield

The SF Giants selected Drew Gilbert's contract on Friday. The 24-year-old outfielder is likely here to stay, as he should receive an extended look in the final two months of the year.

Why new SF Giants prospect will likely receive an extended look in the outfield

Gilbert was eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. This means that the Giants would have needed to protect him from it by adding him to the 40-man roster. Of course, they could have sidestepped this by adding him sooner than that.

As soon as the Giants acquired Gilbert in a trade with the New York Mets, it seemed like the Giants would not only add him to the 40-man roster, but that he would be an option down that stretch. That has now come true. How long of a look will he get?

Gilbert has likely move ahead of several notable Giants players on the outfield depth chart. He was promoted over Luis Matos, Marco Luciano, and Wade Meckler. Luciano and Meckler have not performed well enough to merit a promotion. On the other hand, Matos has struggled across 529 plate appearances in the majors.

Some of the other options include Jerar Encarnación and Grant McCray. Encarnación looked like he earned himself some at-bats after hitting two home runs in a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week. However, he sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain and is expected to miss at least a month.

McCray has eight strikeouts in 15 plate appearances this year. Plus, he has committed two errors in three games in the outfield. The speedy outfielder has been an above-average defender in the minors, but that has not translated to the majors yet. This could be a moot point because it is difficult for any player to contribute value with a strikeout rate that is well north of 30 percent.

The Giants have a lot of outfield options on the 40-man roster. However, many struggle defensively, offensively, or a combination of both. This is excluding Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee, both of whom have a strong hold on a roster spot.

Drew Gilbert is somewhere in the middle. He is a capable defender at all three outfield positions, and could even be an above-average glove at the corners. The left-handed bat has a relatively low ceiling at the plate. He does not hit for much power, but he does a nice job of maximizing the power he does have.

Gilbert will likely reach base at a decent rate for a fourth outfielder, and he has above-average contact skills. That combination of skills does not have a glaring hole that would make him unplayable.

The Giants no longer have Mike Yastrzemski on the roster, so playing time in right field is wide open. Someone has to take the reps at that spot, and it looks like Gilbert is the leading candidate to assume that playing time for now. Plus, now that he is on the roster, it makes little sense to potentially burn an option year this late in the season by sending him back down.

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