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The San Francisco Giants have catapulted into being one of baseball's teams and hasn't had much to do with their moves from this offseason.
Last year's splash offseason signing Jung Hoo Lee had a short rookie season after suffering a back injury that kept him out for all but 37 games.
Lee was given a six-year, $ 113 million deal by the Giants after becoming one of KBO's biggest stars. His glove was always going to be one of his better attributes, but it had translated much quicker than his bat.
He had posted just a .262/.310/.331 slash line with two home runs, eight RBI and two stolen bases over those 37 games.
While he seemed to have a fine eye at the plate, given his low 8.2% strikeout rate, he was a bit over aggressive and it ended up in a lot of bad contact.
He couldn't find much power despite being someone that hit 23 home runs over his last 86 KBO games.
Lee is finally healthy again and he has come back with a vengeance, looking fantastic. The scary part is that there is still plenty of ways for his game to grow.
Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer recently ranked the 10 best hitters in MLB this year and the San Francisco star has already made his way all the way up to the fourth-spot on the list.
The only players that made the list ahead of Lee was San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr., New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso and the New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.
There is no shame in not coming in first if those are the name ahead of him. Lee still finished ahead of established stars like Kyle Tucker and Kyle Schwarber.
The 26-year-old has a .355/.412/.632 slash line over the first 20 games of the season with three home runs, 14 RBI and three stolen bases. He has struck out just 12 times and drawn eight walks.
He has the fourth-highest WPA and has already accounted for 1.4 WAR, tied for the sixth-most.
Lee still has plenty to improve with his bat, though, as he still isn't getting great contact. He has a bottom-15% bat speed and bottom-45% barrel rate per his baseball savant page.
Along with his positive growth on offense, he has also been improved in the field with a better start all around. He is finally looking like the superstar that the Giants thought that they were getting last year.
More must-reads:
- King of New York: Pete Alonso breaks major Mets all-time record
- Astros' playoff push dealt significant blow
- The 'American League WAR leaders' quiz
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Astros' playoff push dealt significant blow
The Houston Astros' playoff push received a devastating blow on Tuesday. The Astros announced that closer Josh Hader was placed on the injured list with a strained left shoulder. Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reported that Hader will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the strain. Hader has been utterly dominant for the Astros in 2025. He had posted a 2.05 ERA and a 0.854 WHIP over his 52.2 innings, striking out 76 batters with 16 walks. Hader had notched 28 saves in 29 attempts as he continued to make a case as the best closer in the game. As the July 31 trade deadline has passed, the Astros may have no option but to cobble the ninth inning together out of what they already have. Reliever Bennett Sousa recorded the one-out save on Monday and is second on the team with four saves. Fellow relievers Bryan Abreu, Bryan King and Steven Okert have impressed this season. The Astros, on paper at least, have plenty of depth in the bullpen. Despite that depth, the ninth inning is now a question mark. Abreu has notched nine saves in his career, the most of any of the Astros' other late-inning options. A reunion with reliever Ryan Pressly, who was designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Cubs, could be a possibility. Pressly does have closing experience but struggled to a 4.35 ERA and a 1.524 WHIP over his 41.1 innings in Chicago. Meanwhile, the Mariners have been white-hot since the trade deadline, winning nine of their last 10 games, including seven in a row heading into Tuesday. That surge has the Mariners just a game behind the Astros in a suddenly competitive AL West. The Guardians and Rangers are within 6.5 games of Houston, well within striking distance should the Astros falter. If Hader is on the injured list for an extended period, the Astros may be fighting for a playoff berth by the end of the season.
Vikings WR gets brutal injury news for second straight season
A Minnesota Vikings wide receiver's season is already over. The Minnesota Vikings announced on Tuesday that wide receiver Rondale Moore is being placed on season-ending injured reserve due to a leg injury that he suffered in the team's first preseason game against the Houston Texans this past weekend. It is a devastating blow for Moore who is now being sidelined for an entire season, before it even begins, for the second year in a row. Moore signed a one-year, $2 million contract in free agency with the Vikings this offseason in the hopes he could return from a different injury that cost him the entirety of the 2024 season. Moore was a member of the Atlanta Falcons in 2024 after being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for backup quarterback Desmond Ridder. This is now two different teams that Moore has been a part of but will never play a game for them due to injuries. Moore was injured while returning a punt. He began his career with the Arizona Cardinals, catching 135 passes for 1,201 yards over three seasons before being traded. He was never going to be counted on to be a key contributor for the Vikings offense this season, especially given the superstars they already have at wide receiver in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but he still had a chance to be an interesting depth player. Now it is fair to wonder what the rest of his career might even look like. Missing two full seasons due to two different leg injuries is going to be a brutal thing to try to come back from. Missing two seasons for any reason is difficult, but when you add the leg injuries to the equation, it makes the obstacle even steeper.
Celtics' ownership move should concern Lakers governor Jeanie Buss
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
Super Bowl champion may have foreseen Caleb Williams' early struggles
Caleb Williams was considered the top prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, but a Super Bowl champion wasn't wild about the Chicago Bears quarterback. In a story published Tuesday, The Athletic's Jon Greenberg shared excerpts from Seth Wickersham's new book, "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," set to release Sept. 9. He also interviewed the ESPN writer via a phone conversation. Citing a section of Wickersham's book, Greenberg noted Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton scouted Williams, despite the team not being in a position to take him. The process left him with concerns. Before the 2017 draft, Payton developed a formula to help calculate processing speed for QB prospects, a critical factor in NFL success. Unlike fellow second-year QB Bo Nix — whom the Broncos selected with pick No. 12 in 2024 — Williams scored poorly. Payton also felt the 2024 No. 1 pick left "too many completions on the field at USC," per Wickersham. Other coaches share similar sentiments about the former Southern California Trojans star. On Monday, The Athletic's Mike Sando released his annual QB tiers. The tiers are numbered one through five, with one being the best and five being the worst. Williams landed in Tier 3. A head coach told Sando that Williams' processing looked "alarming" when watching the tape. An offensive coordinator said the 23-year-old often holds the ball far too long, consequently taking too many sacks. During his rookie season, Williams took the most sacks (68 in 17 starts) in the NFL. To cut the 2022 Heisman winner slack, his offensive line was shaky. According to Pro Football Reference, the unit ranked sixth in the NFL in pressures allowed (160). After firing Matt Eberflus, the Bears hired former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as head coach. His marriage with the young QB seems to be off to a rocky start. Williams has reportedly looked inaccurate during training camp. Williams still has time to get the hang of his new playbook before the regular season starts in September. However, if his problems persist in year two, that would validate Payton's doubts about the QB.
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