San Francisco Giants rookie predicted to receive ROY votes amid recent stretch

While this has been one of the most confusing seasons in the past few years for the San Francisco Giants, there have been some bright spots in terms of young talent. It’s fair to say that the campaign has been a disappointment, but the young players have given some hope to the future of this organization.

Ultimately, the Giants will be judged on whether or not they make the postseason. Just 3.5 games into the National League Wild Card, they certainly have an opportunity to do so. Those young players will be a big factor as they have to pick up some of the veteran’s weakness when they leave it behind.

One player who has been as good as anyone is Tyler Fitzgerald. San Francisco has been looking for a long-time middle infielder, and there appears to be someone who can fill that hole. He hasn’t played in as many games as other rookies, which weakens his chances of winning any awards. It was great though.

And that’s why Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer predicted he’ll finish 5th in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

“Should this last place belong to Shōta Imanaga? He probably does, but he doesn’t help his cause by being so prone to cheating. Surrendered at least five runs in four of his last 13 outings.

“With Fitzgerald, it feels like the NL has its version of Gary Sánchez entering the AL Rookie of the Year chat late in 2016. Small sample size and all, but he was a sensation when he racked up a 1.194 OPS and 13 homers since July 9.”

If it weren’t for Paul Skenes, one of the best starting pitchers in baseball history, maybe Fitzgerald could have done enough over the next month and a half to be considered. As of mid-August, it looks highly likely that Skenes will walk away comfortably with the award, and rightly so.

That doesn’t take away from what Fitzgerald did at the plate. He’s slashing .313/.369/.626 with 14 home runs, 10 doubles, 26 RBI and a 180 OPS+ in 179 at-bats.

Even though he likely won’t win Rookie of the Year, the Giants have found something here that is more important than anything else as an organization and to Fitzgerald as well. He’s showing that he can pitch at the big league level, which should keep him around for the foreseeable future if he continues to produce like this.