San Francisco Giants Lead Baseball in Unusual Category

The San Francisco Giants led the National League in hitting in 2015, and have the most World Series wins in the past six years. They’re also number one in a more unconventional category.

A lot has been made this offseason of the San Francisco Giants’ homegrown infield, and for good reason. The Giants’ four infielders, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, and Matt Duffy, plus catcher Buster Posey can be thrown in there, were all drafted and groomed in the team’s farm system, are all under the age of 30, and are all expected to be huge contributors for what should be a very good Giants’ team in 2016. But the Giants aren’t just grooming infielders, they’re grooming players everywhere.

The Giants’ 40-man roster is filled to the brim with players the team has drafted and molded. Out of the 40 players on the team’s current roster, 27 were either drafted or signed as international free agent by the Giants, good for 67.5 percent of the roster. No other team can claim that high of a rate, as their closest opponent is the St. Louis Cardinals, who sit at 59 percent (23 out of 39).

Just five other teams have at least half of their roster filled with players they’ve groomed themselves. The Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and New York Mets can claim that achievement. On average, just 42 percent of a team’s 40-man roster (16.5 players) is filled with homegrown players.

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Along with the five infield starters, the Giants’ two other 40-man roster catchers, and two other infielders are homegrown. Trevor Brown (2012), Andrew Susac (2011), and Kelby Tomlinson (2011) were all draft picks, while Ehire Adrianza was an international free agent signee in 2006. Outfielders Jarrett Parker (2010) and Mac Williamson (2012) were also drafted by the Giants. 16 of the 25 pitchers of the 40-man roster are Giants’ farmhands.

While the Giants have assembled an infield from the inside, they have taken a different approach to making their outfield. The three projected starting outfielders, as well as the fourth outfielder were all acquired by various means by the Giants. Center fielder Denard Span was signed to a big league contract this past offseason, while left fielder Angel Pagan and right fielder Hunter Pence were picked up via trades in 2012. Gregor Blanco, the utility outfielder extraordinaire, was signed to a minor league contract in 2011, but broke camp with the big league club after an impressive Spring Training.

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Of the other nine players who aren’t natural Giants, three (George Kontos, Javier Lopez, and Jake Peavy) were picked up in trades. Two (Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto) were signed to major league deals this past offseason. The remaining four (Michael Broadway, Santiago Casilla, Cory Gearrin, and Hunter Strickland) were signed to minor league deals in the past few years.

If you’re looking for the Giants’ opposite, look no farther than right across the Bay. The Oakland Athletics have just five homegrown players on the 40-man roster, the least among the 30 teams. . In comparison, the Giants will have six in their opening day lineup, if everything goes right. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Athletics have so few homegrown players, as their strategy in recent years has been to wheel and deal prospects to get established big league players or high-quality prospects. The San Diego Padres, who have traded at a ridiculous rate over the past two years, aren’t far behind, with just eight homegrown players.

Next: Ehire Adrianza Staking Claim to Roster Spot

This strategy of sticking with their own guys has worked for the Giants. Despite consistently porous farm system rankings from prospect experts, the team keeps churning out strong players from the organization without getting the recognition they deserve.

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