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4 Surprise Standouts for the Giants at the 2025 Midseason Mark
Jul 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants hat and glove on the bench against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have had a competitive start to the 2025 campaign, and it has a lot to do with key players stepping up in important moments.

While not all of their success has been surprising, Matt Chapman is playing like himself, and Logan Webb has continued to be an ace; there have been some more shocking standouts through the first half of 2025.

Here are some specific stars through the first half, that have played above expectations:

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LHP Robbie Ray

Ray won a Cy Young back in 2021, so it isn't a complete surprise that he has been an ace so far. It also would have been fair to consider those days behind him, considering the last few years of his career.

His production took a step back in 2022, and he made only eight starts over the next two seasons due to injury, resulting in a 5.03 ERA in those outings.

So far in 2024, he has been elite with a 2.68 ERA with 117 strikeouts in 107.1 innings with a 1.090 WHIP.

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INF Casey Schmitt

Schmitt, a former top prospect, has been called up to provide depth across the infield and is starting to make it hard to take him out of the lineup.

Since the beginning of June, he has posted a .333/.417/.540 slash line with four home runs and 13 RBI in 21 games. For a team desperate for more offense, putting Schmitt in the backseat doesn't make sense right now.

RHP Randy Rodriguez

Rodriguez has been among the most reliable relievers in baseball, coming off a rookie campaign that was just ok.

The 25-year-old has a 0.69 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 39 innings with a 0.769 WHIP. He's walked just eight batters this year and allowed a single home run.

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Despite having just a two-pitch mix, a fastball and a slider, he has dominated just about everyone he has faced this season.

SS Willy Adames Since Second Week of June

Adames' production as of late is only really surprising because of how poorly he started out the year.

From the start of the season through the first seven days of June, he had posted just a .193/.281/.303 slash line with five home runs and 26 RBI.

In the 26 games he has played since then, he has slashed .319/.404/.560 with six home runs and 19 RBI. Adames is finally playing like the shortstop that they paid $182 million to.

For more Giants news, head over to Giants On SI.


This article first appeared on San Francisco Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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