San Francisco Giants Shortstop Of The Future Is Not Who You Think It Is

Brandon Crawford has been a mainstay of the San Francisco Giants for over a decade. An integral part of numerous Giants championship seasons, the aging SS has seen better days. With new Giants phenom, Casey Schmitt, grabbing the brass ring as the Giants’ everyday SS, it would appear the organization is starting the transition from the once All-Star SS in Crawford to a fresh-faced option from the farm system. While Schmitt has hit the ground running at the major league level thus far, the Giants have another prospect aiming to take over as the team’s SS of the future, Tyler Fitzgerald.

Before anyone says, “Casey Schmitt is the team’s SS of the future”, remember that Schmitt is a Milb Gold Glove defender across the infield. Schmitt will play anywhere the team needs him, whether that be SS, 3B, or 2B. While Schmitt has excelled thus far in the majors, it is likely, knowing how well Fitzgerald has performed in the high minors this season, Schmitt takes over at one of the base positions come Fitzgerald’s pending call-up. Seeing that the Giants are a tad thin at the 3rd base position, with only J.D Davis, a 30-year-old MLB veteran, as his main competition. This leaves the door open for San Francisco to employ Fitzgerald at SS and Schmitt at 3B.

For even the most hardcore of Giants fans, Tyler Fitzgerald is not at the top of their SS of the future ranks. San Francisco features one of the game’s top prospects in Marco Luciano (MLB #18 prospect), also a SS. Fitzgerald is not even ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Top-30 Giants prospect list. While Luciano has a much louder power tool, his stature as the unquestioned SS of the future is being put into question by Fitzgerald, a purer and more fundamental player. An outlandish proclamation to some, the end all be all for these prospects will always be how they translate on the field. If what Fitzgerald is showing now is any indication of how that play translates, buckle up.

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A 4th-round pick in 2019, Fitzgerald came to the Giants via the University of Louisville. While Covid 2020 halted his momentum, the steady progression up the Giants ladder has been relatively seamless. While 2022, a full season in Richmond (San Francisco AA), was not as productive for Fitzgerald, with a .229 BA, his 21 HRs, and 20 stolen bases, convinced those in the organization to factor him into the Giants’ plans.

When 2023 rolled around, Fitzgerald was up for the task at hand. In just 68 at-bats with the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, the SS hit .324 with a .410 OBP. The brief 2023 stint in Richmond was enough of a sample for the Giants evaluators to move Fitzgerald to AAA.

All things considered; AAA has not yielded much of an adjustment period for Fitzgerald. In his first month as a River Cat, Fitz maintains a batting average over .290 and has a steady BABIP of over .315. This tells us Fitzgerald has indeed stayed consistent at a higher level of play. The arrival of Fitzgerald has seemingly knocked out Will Wilson (a former Giants Top-30 prospect) from the team’s infield plans. As mentioned before, Luciano could also see a boot from the SS spot as well with the play of Fitz. With San Francisco fans being enamored with Luciano and his power, not to mention he has been touted as the next big thing for years, convincing any Bay Area sports nut that Fitzgerald is the guy at SS, not going to be easy.

In Fitzgerald’s defense, he has a more polished game than Luciano (as previously stated). The younger Luciano has a 33.8 K percentage in AA. Fitzgerald maintains a K percentage of 21. The ability to hit for as much power as Luciano might be tampering with opinions, however, the fact Fitzgerald hits and hits consistently, cannot be overlooked. While many will say that dealing with Fitzgerald is a better option than giving him a role at the big-league level at the expense of Luciano, that is not the direction you should consider. Luciano will not touch the majors this year. Have him spend some time in AAA. Fitzgerald can be tried at 2B, especially with Thairo Estrada’s versatility, if Luciano is truly a SS by nature and an OF move cannot be made.

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However, letting Luciano grow into an OF role (which San Francisco has a lot there too) might be a valuable option. This brings up an interesting question or debate among baseball enthusiasts.

You can never have enough talent in the minor leagues. With Fitzgerald being so close, to knocking on the door to SF, the question needs to be answered of his arrival in the Bay Area. Luciano does create a roadblock. With that being said, if Fitzgerald is ready, pull the trigger. The ability to play at a high level in the majors is not given to everyone, top prospect or not. Let the guy who looks like he can be a major-league SS play as a major-league SS. For San Francisco, that means giving Fitzgerald the shot. He has done what he’s needed to at the highest minor league level. If his play truly makes him a big leaguer, do not let it pass you by because the prospect of a top-25 prospect playing at the same level is greater than what is already in front of you.

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