Jun 20, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Ehire Adrianza (6) hits a double during the fourth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
This is my pick to surprise everyone and win the starting job out of Spring Training. Overall in 2014, Adrianza’a big league numbers weren’t eye-popping, as he hit .237 with six doubles and five RBI’s. But he got out to an incredibly slow start before landing on the disabled list with a groin injury. After returning, he was a brand new hitter. In June and July, he hit .327 in limited time. However, he suffered another injury, this time to his hamstring, which ended his season.
Offensively, he is a pretty big question mark. In the minors, he is only a .249 career hitter, but in Triple-A, he hits at a .318 clip. He doesn’t possess great home run power, but he does have extra-base pop. His best asset is his speed, as he can take the extra base, or swipe a bag.
Defensively, he owns one of the best gloves in the organization. However, he has been almost exclusively a shortstop, playing just four games at second base, and one at third in the minors. He did make a fairly seamless transition to second in the bigs, so making another switch may not be a problem.
Spring Training in 2014 was pretty impressive for Adrianza. He may need to do that again to steal the starting job from some other guys.