Willy Adames has by no means been an All-Star. He has by no means received a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger. The highest of his Baseball Reference web page — an area reserved for a participant’s awards and accolades — is barren.
So, why is he quickly to personal the most important contract in Giants franchise historical past? Briefly, he has been actually good for a very long time.
Adames has been a consensus top-10 shortstop for the final half-decade, one who does a bit little bit of every part. He’s a testomony to the quote, “Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” Adames alone doesn’t elevate the Giants to rivalry however he inches San Francisco in that route. If the Giants can beef up their beginning rotation, too, a visit to the playoffs subsequent season is within the playing cards.
Let’s check out 5 numbers that assist illustrate why San Francisco signed Adames:
20.1
Since Adames made his debut, solely 9 gamers have accrued at the least 20 WAR (per FanGraphs) as main shortstops: Francisco Lindor, Trea Turner, Marcus Semien, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Dansby Swanson, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Adames.
Adames has been a bit overshadowed within the shortstop dialogue for his total profession. The 29-year-old isn’t simply taking part in in a golden age of shortstops, however he has spent his profession tucked away in Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.
Final season, Adames completed with a career-best 4.8 WAR. The one main shortstops who completed above him have been Elly De La Cruz (6.4), Lindor (7.8), Gunnar Henderson (8.0) and Bobby Witt Jr. (10.4) — the elite of the elite.
140
Since 2019, Adames’ first full 12 months within the majors, the 29-year-old’s 140 residence runs rank fourth amongst main shortstops. He has averaged 28 homers over the past 4 seasons and hit a career-high 32 homers in his ultimate 12 months in Milwaukee.
These aren’t insignificant numbers for a crew nonetheless looking for its first 30-homer season since Barry Bonds in 2004.
Trivia apart, the Giants had middle-of-the-pack energy final season. Their 177 homers have been tied with the Brewers for sixteenth whereas their .396 slugging share ranked fifteenth. San Francisco may gain advantage from much more energy, however Adames offers the lineup with pop.
Adames doesn’t hit the ball abnormally exhausting (fortieth percentile exit velocity in 2024) however is aware of elevate. Final season, Adames’ common launch angle of 20.6 ranked thirteenth amongst certified hitters.
For what it’s value, Adames has hit effectively at Oracle Park in a restricted pattern dimension. In 16 video games, Adames owns a .321/.381/.446 slash line with two homers and 9 RBIs.
47.6%
San Francisco’s pitchers prefer to put the ball on the bottom. They’ve led the league in floor ball price each season for the final 4 seasons, amounting to a 47.6% floor ball price from 2021-24. Since 2021, Logan Webb (59.0%) is simply second to Framber Valdez (62.4%) on this division (Tyler Rogers ranks fifth at 54.8%).
Adames has by no means received a Gold Glove, however he has been one among baseball’s higher defenders at shortstop. From 2018-23, Adames has been value 20 defensive runs saved and 14 outs above common. He’s not as elite defensively as Brandon Crawford, who had a number of seasons of at the least 20 defensive runs saved, however he’s a plus glove.
Final season, although, was an aberration. Adames completed his ultimate season in Milwaukee with -16 defensive runs saved, by far the worst single-season mark of his profession. That might very effectively find yourself being an aberration — Adames had -8 defensive runs saved as a rookie — but it surely’s value monitoring how he fares defensively.
Pairing Adames with Matt Chapman, who just lately received his fifth Gold Glove Award, will make Giants pitchers pleased — and will lure some arms to San Francisco.
21
Adames wasn’t a quantity base stealer for many of his profession, swiping simply 30 luggage on 48 makes an attempt from 2018-23. Throughout that span, essentially the most he had in a single season was eight.
These baserunning tendencies modified throughout his ultimate season in Milwaukee. Adames stole 21 bases on 25 makes an attempt, turning within the second 20/20 season (and first 30/20 season) in franchise historical past by a shortstop, the opposite belonging to Corridor of Famer Robin Yount.
Adames’ common dash pace has dipped lately, going from 28.7 ft per second in 2019 to 27.4 ft per second in ’24, however elite pace shouldn’t be a prerequisite to swiping luggage.
Chapman, curiously sufficient, noticed an identical uptick in each quantity and success. Regardless of being one among baseball’s quicker runners, Chapman had 11 steals on 23 makes an attempt from 2017-23. In ‘24, Chapman stole 15 bases on 17 attempts.
Last season, the Giants finished 29th in stolen bases (68) and were one of four teams that failed to attempt at least 100 steals. With the addition of Adames and the return of Jung Hoo Lee, San Francisco stands to see an uptick in stolen bases.
7.1
In 2021, Brandon Crawford had one of the best seasons by a Giants shortstop this millennium. He hit .298 with 24 homers, 90 RBIs and 11 steals, finishing fourth in NL MVP voting and winning his fourth Gold Glove. For all that, he was worth 6.2 WAR.
Since then, San Francisco’s shortstops have collectively produced 7.1 WAR over the past three seasons.
The Giants’ record of shortstops from 2022-24 makes for wonderful Immaculate Grid materials, that includes Crawford, Tyler Fitzgerald, Thairo Estrada, Brett Correctly, Marco Luciano, Nick Ahmed, Mauricio Dubón, Dixon Machado, Jason Vosler, Johan Camargo, Paul DeJong, Casey Schmitt and Donovan Walton.
Correa by no means donned the black and orange and Luciano’s reign at shortstop by no means actually started (although it definitely did finish). With Adames, San Francisco ought to be set at shortstop for the foreseeable future.
