Spring training wins mean squat. But the Giants are showing signs of life

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Giants have the best record among the 30 Major League Baseball teams that are training on diamonds across Arizona and Florida, and we all know what that means, right?

Absolutely nothing.

Spring training numbers don’t necessarily translate once the regular-season begins. Sometimes the games — exhibitions, actually — are decided in late innings by a lineup of prospects long after starters have hit the showers. Veterans simply are getting their work in before the 162-game grind. It’s not about wins and losses.

Unless, of course, you’re the team with the best record. The Giants know there’s no trophy for winning the Cactus League, no prize money, certainly no parade, but the high level they’ve reached in recent weeks, outplaying the other 29 teams, offers hope that 2025 could be more special than their past three mediocre seasons.

“I’ve asked a couple of guys who played on winning baseball teams if spring matters. They’re, like, no,” said ace Logan Webb, whose 107-win team in 2021 had a losing spring training record. “But I do think you can build a foundation for what you want to do and how you want to achieve it. We’ve been doing that this spring, and we want to carry that into the season.”

In Buster Posey’s first spring training as president of baseball operations, the Giants — 16-5-3 with the end of the Arizona portion of spring training coming on Saturday — have been extremely proficient and successful in areas they targeted as a focus entering camp.

Here are a few examples:

In the clubhouse, several monitors flash the daily and overall leaderboards ranking all pitchers’ strike-throwing, first-pitch-strike efficiency, and other key metrics that management believes they need to master to seriously upgrade from last season.

The message seen above the rankings: “Know your plan. Push the pace. Pound the zone. When we do this, we punch more, walk less, win more games.”

It’s working. Giants pitchers have issued the fewest spring training walks in the majors, by far: 56 in 212 innings. At the same time, they rank second in strikeouts, giving them an impressive 4.23 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Cubs rank second at a distant 2.86.

Giants pitchers are first in WHIP in the majors and second in ERA, and it might not surprise you that Justin Verlander is tops among the Giants’ starting pitchers in strike percentage and first-pitch strikes. Monday against the White Sox, 51 of his 76 pitches were strikes (including his final pitch, a 96.5 mph fastball, the hardest he has thrown in camp), and he threw 14 first-pitch strikes to his 20 batters. “You watch Justin throw, you see how he attacks in the zone,” Webb said. “He’s not scared of anybody. The guys really have bought into that. It’s been fun to see.”

Refreshingly, reliever Camilo Doval is among the team leaders in strike percentage after posting a horrendous walk rate last year. In seven outings, he struck out eight and walked one.

Starter Robbie Ray’s numbers are ridiculous: 17 strikeouts, zero walks. Landen Roupp threw a simulated game at the minor-league camp the other day and struck out a whopping 13 batters in five innings (including the first nine) and issued just one walk.

“You don’t walk guys, a solo homer is not going to beat you,” Ray said. “As long as you don’t walk guys, you’re giving your team a chance. It’s definitely to keep the hitters on the defensive. Hitters don’t like hitting when they’re behind [in the count]. So just get ahead of guys and put them away.”

The Giants were awful last season in runners-in-scoring-position situations, ranking 24th in the majors in batting average and 26th in OPS. They’re doing much better in spring training, especially with runners in scoring position and two outs, posting the highest average and fourth best OPS.

It’s not just hitting with runners in scoring position. It can simply be advancing runners 90 feet. Moiving a runner from second to third with one or no outs, even on a groundout or flyout, doesn’t help your batting average or on-base percentage, but it helps your team. The chances of a runner scoring from third versus second dramatically increase.

Giants hitters are proud to say they are doing the “little things” to elevate the offense, not simply trying to crush the ball over the wall in the dry Arizona air. It’s what hitting coach Pat Burrell harped on throughout the winter, and the message apparently was well received. 

It helps that Willy Adames is in camp. The Giants’ biggest free-agent signing drove in 112 runs last season, more than anyone in the majors except Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Jose Ramirez. It’s not just Adames’ power that’s game-changing; it’s also his willingness to go the other way and hit a ground ball through the right side to drive home a runner from second base with two outs.

Adames arrived well before spring training and worked on situational hitting in the cage, setting an example for others. It’s encouraging that Luis Matos, who was up and down between San Francisco and Sacramento last season, is among the team leaders with runners in scoring position.

Jung Hoo Lee (a leadoff man in 2024) is the new No. 3 hitter because of his high contact rate and ability to smoke balls to the outfield grass. Traditionally, Oracle Park is among the toughest facilities to hit home runs, so it would seem advantageous to feature gap-to-gap hitters such as Lee.

“We had zoom calls before camp with everybody, including player development, that this is going to be a point of emphasis for us,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Then you get buy-ins from guys like Adames before camp even starts. That resonates with younger players. It’s OK to shorten up and just get a hit. You don’t need to hit a home run every time. … Those are things that have an effect on guys mentally as the game goes along.”

Third baseman Matt Chapman won his fifth Gold Glove last season, catcher Patrick Bailey won his first, and right fielder Mike Yastrzemski was a Gold Glove finalist.

Lee, the center fielder, has a strong arm and is adept at chasing down balls in the gap, so long as he doesn’t crash into the wall and blow out his shoulder as he did last May. Heliot Ramos moved from center to left, a better fit for the All-Star who wore down toward season’s end.

With Adames at shortstop, Tyler Fitzgerald is transitioning to second base. According to advanced metrics, Adames was a superb defender in 2022 and 2023 but slipped last season. Regardless, Posey suggested the Giants have the best left side of the infield in the majors.

“I think we have a great defense,” Adames said. “We have awards. We have the talent. Because we have [Chapman] here, I feel that’ll motivate me, Tyler, and everybody else to be the best version of ourselves and try to get to his level.”

Nobody in camp likes discussing this subject. Baseball people are superstitious by nature and tend to believe that any talk of good health can backfire. That’s why they always knock on wood (or sheetrock or formica) when discussing their physical condition.

But the fact is, the Giants were extremely fortunate on the health front with camp winding down, at least until Lee developed mid-back tightness and missed the past three days. He was was sent for an MRI Monday and was to meet with Dr. Ken Akizuki.

For the most part, other main players are good to go. Lefty Kyle Harrison, in competition for the final rotation spot, rehabbed his shoulder in the offseason and was ill early in camp, his weight dropping to 207 pounds. As a result, he’s behind Roupp and Hayden Birdsong and likely will open the season in Triple-A Sacramento. But he had his best outing Sunday when he reached 95 mph with his fastball after elevating his arm slot for a smoother delivery. He also has his weight back to normal, in the 220-pound range.

Backup catcher Tom Murphy will be on the injured list for a while, which is nothing new after he missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury. This time, it’s a back ailment. The Giants have pivoted to Sam Huff, who has a better chance than Max Stassi to be Patrick Bailey’s backup because he’s a better hitter and is on the 40-man roster; Stassi is a non-roster invitee.

Otherwise, all is well in sickbay. Knock on wood.

Finally, there are signs the Giants have a running game in the wake of finishing 29th in steals last year and 30th in 2023. Granted, the Giants rank 16th in spring training, but one of their two fastest players, Fitzgerald, had a back issue early in camp and wasn’t given a green light until recently.

The other speedster, Grant McCray, who leads the Giants with four steals, appears headed for Triple-A unless Lee opens on the injured list, which would create an Opening Day roster spot.

“We’re probably not going to be a team that’s going to be at the top of the stolen-base charts,” Chapman said. “But I think we’ll do better than last year. [Fitzgerald] will be playing more. Willy’s here now, he stole [21] bags last year. I’m going to keep trying to steal bags [15 in 2024]. Jung Hoo, [Yastrzemski]. I’ve got to imagine we’re going to have guys who will swipe some bags. I think we’re a good baserunning team.”

It’s not just basestealing. It’s putting pressure on the defense through aggressiveness, awareness, and hustle. It’s taking an extra base. It’s taking the pitcher out of his game. It’s turning a tiny rally into a huge rally.

It’s a different vibe in camp with Posey replacing Farhan Zaidi. Hitting coach Pat Burrell has spoken of engaging in some old-school approaches, and using all fields is emphasized, not just trying to jack balls over the wall. Asked about launch angles and exit velocities, Burrell said, “I like to use the phrase, ‘It’s not how hard you hit it, it’s how often.’”

Adames’ presence is rubbing off on others as someone who elevates his game in clutch situations. His average with runners in scoring position last year was 42 points higher than his season average.

Adames and others have been thrilled that Posey brought in so many former players as guest instructors, including from the championship era: Marco Scutaro, Joe Panik, Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Vogelsong, Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt, Yusmeiro Petit and Javier Lopez.

From previous generations, guest instructors included Jeffrey Leonard, Barry Bonds, J.T. Snow, Rich Aurilia, and Dave Righetti.

Giants alumni weren’t present like this during the Zaidi administration, but it’s part of the new approach under Posey, who also hired former Giant Randy Winn as the vice president of player personnel.

“I never had that before, never had guys coming out to spring training who were part of winning a championship,” Adames said. “It motivates me to, ‘Hey, we gotta do something better here. We’ve gotta accomplish what they accomplished.’ They were family, and now they’re coming back because Buster is running things. Like, ‘Hey, we need you here.’ ‘Yes.’

“I want to create a culture like that. You think, ‘When we win, 10 or 20 years later, I can call anybody and say, ‘Yo, let’s go to camp together to motivate the young guys.’ That’s Buster. When he called me to play for the Giants, I was, like, sign me up. If that’s what you want to create, sign me up. I’m down.”