Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Amid good news or bad news, after a home run or a demotion, the Giants will remind you what they see in Jaylin Davis.
“Jaylin has such a tremendous engine,” Gabe Kapler said Thursday over Zoom. “The bat speed, the quickness, the athleticism, the speed. And really what we’re looking for with Jaylin is more consistency.”
The consistency will have to be found in Sacramento, as the outfielder was demoted prior to Thursday’s series finale with the Padres. Kapler said they wanted “more volume” and “more intensity” in his cage work and for Davis to prove to the team he should be promoted back up.
Two spots needed to be cleared for Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt, and Davis and Joe McCarthy were the victims. Righty-hitting Austin Slater has outplayed him through the first week of the season, and with Belt back, righty-hitting Darin Ruf could see more outfield time. There is not a path toward Davis’ playing time.
The Giants are very conscious about keeping Davis believing in himself.
“We have a tremendous amount of belief in Jaylin,” Kapler said before the Giants tried to get over .500 for the first time. “The most important message that I sent to him in last night’s meeting was: We believe in you, we are with you, we are supporting you. We’re not going to stop communicating.”
He will now be under the eye of farm director Kyle Haines, who talks frequently with Kapler. The Giants believe they’ll see Davis again.
“We still believe he’s going to make an important impact on this club,” Kapler said.
Amid the Giants making so many moves, Kapler revealed he talked with Joey Bart on Wednesday night. Apparently he was not inviting him to the big leagues just yet.
The Giants can call the star catching prospect up now without worrying about him hitting free agency a year earlier than they want.
“He’s doing well,” Kapler said of Bart. “He’s progressing nicely, things are going smoothly.”
A report stated Bart has gotten reps at first base, which Kapler did not confirm or deny.
Through five games played, Hunter Pence is 0-for-17. Kapler pointed to “some crisp contact” in believing things will turn.
“I have 100 percent confidence that Hunter Pence’s track record is predictive of what’s to come for him,” Kapler said. “His work has been consistent, his attitude has been consistent as it always is … and the talent is fully intact.
“So we expect that as we continue to get him his reps, the balls will start to fall on the grass and he’ll start to hit balls out of the ballpark because that’s who Hunter Pence was last year, that’s who he largely has been in his career.”
The Giants felt as if they had enough time to evaluate Rule 5 pick Dany Jimenez, who was designated for assignment.
Yet, what they found was the hard-throwing righty needed more work. The Giants wanted to see him throw hard, they wanted to see him throw breaking balls for strikes and they wanted to see him bury that breaking ball. He couldn’t do all three.
“There’s still some development to occur for him to be able to be capable of delivering those three ingredients,” Kapler said. “We still think he’s got all of the elements that make a major league reliever. He’s got the talent, and those are the things that he’ll need to work on.”
Hunter Bishop, still not in Sacramento after testing positive for COVID prior to camp opening, is “completely healthy and strong,” according to Hunter Bishop.
It appears the holdup is he cannot get two consecutive negative tests, spaced 24 hours apart, that clear him.
I’m completely healthy and strong! Obviously the protocols and testing are what is limiting from stepping foot on the field – but I’m all about safety and the health of the players present. Hopefully back ASAP https://t.co/f1T2xsCUpq
— Hunter Bishop (@_HunterBishop_) July 30, 2020