San Francisco Giants Need to Free Mac Williamson

The San Francisco Giants are bringing up Mac Williamson, and they need to let the outfielder go out and play every day while he’s here.

With the San Francisco Giants’ offense as stagnant as ever, the team is making their first significant change to the lineup. Left fielder Hunter Pence is heading to the disabled list with a sprained thumb, and Mac Williamson is coming up to take his place.

The 35-year-old Pence sprained his thumb a few weeks back during the team’s home opener, and it hasn’t gotten better in the days since. Whether it’s because of the thumb or simply Father Time collecting his debt, Pence has not produced at the plate this season. In 17 games and 61 plate appearances, Pence owns a .172/.197/.190 slash-line with a two (2) wRC+, 36.1 percent strikeout rate, and one extra-base hit.

Pence isn’t the only reason the Giants have scored a league-low 51 runs, and failed to cross the two-run threshold 10 times in 18 games, but he has certainly been a contributing factor. That opens the door for Williamson, who has appeared to be a brand new ballplayer after an offseason spent fixing his swing.

Williamson put himself back on the map with a strong performance in the Cactus League, hitting .318/.333/.727 with eight extra-base hits (tied for second on the team), and continued to rake in the Pacific Coast League.

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With the Sacramento River Cats, Williamson started the year on an absolute tear en route to winning the PCL’s Player of the Week award for the first week of the year. In his first 11 games, he put up video game numbers, hitting .487/.600/1.026 with six home runs, 16 RBI, and an otherworldly 296 wRC+.

Now, the Giants will hope that Williamson can provide a spark to a team that has yet to find its footing as an offense. The hope is that his new swing translates to the big leagues, and that Williamson can finally stick in the big leagues this time around.

Williamson has been here before, but extended opportunities have been few and far between. Not coincidentally, Williamson’s best showing as a major leaguer was when the team played him just about every day. Back in June and July of 2016, Williamson was routinely in the lineup as a corner outfielder and was a revelation in the lineup. He hit .279/.402/.529 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 82 plate appearances.

A shoulder injury derailed that run, and he hasn’t had an extended run with the team since. He’s been recalled to the Giants four times since that injury, and has averaged just over 20 plate appearances per stint with the team.

The Giants have to let this play out. They can’t get cold feet at the first sign of trouble, and bench Williamson the first time he goes hitless in three or four at-bats. They’ve done that plenty of times in the past, with Williamson and with other prospects before and after him, but they have to show some confidence in a player that needs a confidence boost. There is no clear better option to play every day at this juncture.

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Even if Williamson plays to his big league career norms this time around (.226/.295/.387, 84 wRC+), it still presents a marked upgrade over what Pence provided in the first three weeks of the season. But if he can provide anything even close to what he did in Sacramento, the Giants might finally be able to stop the constant revolving door in left field.