Young SF Giants outfielder crushes home run against former Giants prospect

SF Giants outfielder Luis Matos has looked very solid at the plate in spring training thus far. He hit his first home run of Cactus League play on Sunday and he hit it off a familiar face in the form of right-handed pitcher Shaun Anderson.

Anderson, currently a member of the Los Angeles Angels, hung a breaking ball over the plate and Matos made him pay for it, yanking it over the left-field fence. The swing was a great example of the power Matos has and the promise he has at just 23 years old. The homer can be viewed here.

Young SF Giants outfielder Luis Matos crushes homer off Shaun Anderson

Matos has been trending in the right direction since winter ball where he hit very well. Manager Bob Melvin even mentioned Matos as one of the players who has caught his eye in camp thus far. If he keeps it up it seems more than likely that he will snag one of the backup outfielder spots on the team especially since he also gives the team some much-needed speed and athleticism.

His homer against Anderson also gives us a chance to reflect on Forever Giants Shaun Anderson. The 6-foot-4 right-hander made his big league debut with the Giants back in 2019 and got a lot of opportunities that season, sporting a 5.44 ERA in 96 innings pitched including 16 games started. He was a little better in the 2020 pandemic season, recording a 3.52 ERA in 15 and 1/3 innings.

In 2021, the Giants traded Anderson to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for LaMonte Wade Jr. which ended up being one of the savvier moves of Farhan Zaidi's tenure as president of baseball operations. Wade has gone on to be a solid contributor for the Giants and was a huge part of the team's improbable 2021 season while Anderson has a collective ERA of 8.63 in 23 big league games since the Giants traded him.

There was a time when Anderson was considered one of the top ten prospects in San Francisco's farm system, but he just has not been able to find consistent success at the big league level. The Giants were certainly wise to move on from him when they did and ended up getting a solid big league player in return.

Anderson is the past though while Matos is the future for the Giants. Perhaps this home run is a wink from the baseball gods that the Giants' farm system is finally trending in the right direction after years of struggling to produce consistent big leaguers.