Giants Slugger Jung Hoo Lee on Fringe of National League MVP Race

The San Francisco Giants have received just enough production from their lineup to surprisingly remain within arm’s reach of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the competitive National League West race.

If they want to remain in the mix, they are going to need their major free agent signing, shortstop Willy Adames, to find his groove at the plate. The same goes for third baseman Matt Chapman, who has been an on-base machine but isn’t hitting enough.

Helping pick up the slack for their expected impact players has been center fielder Jung Hoo Lee.

Breaking down Jung Hoo Lee's Stellar Start to 2025

Signed to a six-year, $113 million deal ahead of the 2024 campaign after a stellar career in the KBO, the Giants were excited about what their newest outfielder brought to the table.

A dynamic two-way player who was as productive in the field as he was at the plate, expectations were sizable. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much of a chance to show what he had last year.

Lee suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after only 37 games played. His production was underwhelming, leading to some questions about whether or not he would ever come close to living up to expectations.

Those questions were quickly put to bed once the 2025 regular season got underway.

He has been excellent, providing San Francisco with everything they could have hoped for and more.

Through 42 games and 177 plate appearances, Lee has a .288/.333/.472 slash line with an OPS+ of 132. He has been an extra-base hit machine with five home runs, 11 doubles and two triples, knocking in 27 runs with three stolen bases.

An elite bat-to-ball performer, he has more than made up for below-average exit velocity, barrel and hard-hit rates with elite squared-up percentages and strong LA sweet-spot percentages, per Baseball Savant.

Rarely swinging and missing or striking out in general, Lee consistently puts the ball in play, where his speed is put to use to make up for the lack of traditional power.

His Base Running Value of +2 is in the 96th percentile in baseball and +2 Fielding Run Value is also well above average.

It should come as no surprise, with this level of production, that Lee was considered a legitimate candidate for a spot on the All-MLB team and will be in the mix for the NL All-Star team, too.

Given his all-around contribution to the team, if this level of production continues, Lee will find himself on some MVP ballots when it is all said and done.