SACRAMENTO–When the San Francisco Giants called up rookie left fielder Austin Slater earlier this season, manager Bruce Bochy praised Slater for his ability to demonstrate a mastery at the plate at every Minor League level.
Bochy said that regardless of where Slater played and what pitching he faced, eventually Slater came around and become a productive force for his team’s lineup.
If the Giants decide to call up left fielder Chris Shaw this September, it’s easy to envision a scenario in which Bochy offers the exact same compliments to Shaw that he did to Slater.
Since being selected by the Giants with the 31st overall pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, Shaw has torn through the Minor Leagues, and showcased a powerful stroke that San Francisco hopes will one day transfer seamlessly to its Major League lineup.
Despite a tough second half of the 2016 season after Shaw was promoted from A-San Jose to AA-Richmond, Shaw tore apart AA pitching and posted a .301 average and a .901 OPS in 37 games with Richmond at the start of the 2017 campaign.
Shaw admitted he was surprised that the Giants ushered him up to AAA as soon as they did, but because Sacramento had a need in the outfield and he’d posted impressive numbers in AA, he was ready to get the call.
“I definitely kind of had hoped going into the year that if I had gone to Richmond and played well and taken care of business that getting the call to Sacramento would have been in the future,” Shaw said. “To have been called up as early as I was, I was a little surprised. I think they wait until the All-Star break to do that type of stuff but with the way the roster and everything had openings up here, it made sense.”
After dominating Pacific Coast League pitching during his first two weeks with the River Cats, Shaw did cool off, as his average dipped to .272 on June 27 while his on-base percentage hovered at just .310 as recently as July 25.
Over the last three weeks, however, Shaw surged again, compiling a 14-game hit streak that featured five home runs. The Giants’ top prospect according to Baseball America, and the franchise’s No. 2 prospect (Christian Arroyo) according to MLB.com, Shaw said his hot streak is the result of an adjustment he made that helped him do a better job of recognizing pitches.
“The past couple of weeks I’ve kind of started earlier, I guess you could say,” Shaw said. “I’m looking to get a little more going with my load, help me recognize pitches more. But other than that, not a lot. It’s just a process, it’s a long season and you’ve just got to keep grinding every day.”
Shaw’s recent play comes at a point in the year when the Giants are making determinations about what their 40-man roster will look like come September and into the offseason, and also comes as general manager Bobby Evans is deciding how to craft his approach to reshaping San Francisco’s roster for 2018.
There’s no doubt that San Francisco wants Shaw to be a centerpiece of its future, and it’s increasingly clear that Shaw is close to being able to help at the Major League level. But even though the Giants will use the month of September to take inventory of their 40-man roster heading into the winter, it remains unclear whether Shaw will have an opportunity to hit against big league pitching.
The pros of calling Shaw up when the River Cats’ season ends are obvious. The Boston College product can build confidence against the Major League-caliber arms, the Giants can evaluate the progress Shaw has made as a corner outfielder, and San Francisco can begin to gauge whether Shaw deserves legitimate consideration to make the team’s Major League roster out of Spring Training next season.
San Francisco lacks power throughout its lineup, and even though Shaw isn’t the right-handed weapon the Giants will surely look to add heading into 2018, he’s a capable lefty with a career OPS of .869 in the Minor Leagues who projects as a middle-of-the-order hitter into the future. The opportunity for Shaw to take Major League at-bats, even a limited amount, is an enticing one, especially for a club that has struggled through a trying season in the outfield.
However, there are also a number of compelling reasons why Shaw may not receive his first taste of Major League action until 2018, and those are undoubtedly at the front of Evans’ mind.
Because Shaw was selected in the 2015 draft, he remains under team control this offseason regardless of whether he’s added to the Giants’ 40-man roster. That’s significant for San Francisco, because a number of prospects drafted in 2013 or 2014 with promising futures must be protected on the 40-man roster this offseason. The franchise’s top pitching prospect Tyler Beede is an obvious addition, while Tyler Rogers, D.J. Snelten and Dusten Knight, a trio of top relievers for AAA Sacramento, have also made strong cases for the Giants to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft this offseason.
Still, though, concerns over a 40-man roster spot shouldn’t be enough to keep Shaw away from San Francisco. One of the other primary reasons the Giants may not add Shaw to the roster is that they don’t want the clock on his Major League service time to start ticking.
Every day that Shaw would spend in the Major Leagues this September would count toward his service time, and if the Giants were to call him up next month, and then have him start the 2018 season on the Opening Day roster, San Francisco would more than likely lose a year of contractual control. This is why certain prospects begin the season in the Minor Leagues, only to be called up a month after the start of the year. Calling Shaw up in the midst of a lost season could have a harsh long-term effect on the Giants’ ability to keep him with the club, so that’s another factor to consider.
Finally, San Francisco may not feel it’s worth it to push Shaw up in September because the Giants don’t necessarily have a place for him to take everyday at-bats.
Because Jarrett Parker missed a considerable amount of time due to injury this year, the club wants Parker to play consistently over the final six weeks of the season. Furthermore, if Austin Slater returns from injury, the Giants will have two promising options in left field to evaluate, which will crowd an outfield that has created a flood of question marks heading into 2018.
If Brandon Belt’s concussion keeps him out for much of September, San Francisco could play Shaw at first base and use Ryder Jones at first base, but it’s too early for the Giants to craft those plans.
At this point, it’s probably a toss-up as to whether San Francisco will take a look at Shaw this September because there are a number of complicated factors to consider that are all out of Shaw’s control. In the meantime, the best thing Shaw can do for himself is continue to hit and remain ready should San Francisco decide to take a sneak peak at what it has in store for the future.
“I have no idea,” Shaw said, when asked about a potential call-up. “I leave that alone. I don’t know. There’s really radio silence as far as that stuff goes in the front office and stuff. If and when they want to make the call, I’ll be ready. Until then, there isn’t really much dialogue back and forth.”