This Giants Slugger Is Chasing Something Not Accomplished in Three Decades

The San Francisco Giants have received some remarkable contributions from players in their lineup which has helped the team get off to an incredibly strong start.

One of the players who has stood out thus far is designated hitter Wilmer Flores.

Had circumstances been different this past winter, there is a chance that the veteran slugger wouldn’t have even been on the roster.

Coming off an injury-plagued and unproductive 2024 campaign, the only thing that may have saved him was that he had a player option in his contract.

The Giants are certainly happy he stayed, more closely replicating the performance from his breakout 2023 season than what he did last year.

In 71 games and 242 plate appearances in 2024, Flores had a .206/.277/.318 slash line with an OPS+ of 72. He hit only four home runs and 12 doubles with 26 RBI.

This season, he has seen an increase in all of his numbers now that he is healthy and in the lineup regularly.

Can Wilmer Flores Continue His Incredible Run Production?

Flores has a .243/.298/.407 slash line with a 103 OPS+. He has already surpassed his production from last year in several categories with seven home runs and 33 RBI.

That is exactly what San Francisco needed, and it puts him in a position to accomplish something that hasn’t been done by a Giants player in over three decades.

The last hitter from the team to lead the National League in RBI was Barry Bonds in 1993.

Right now, Flores is tied for fourth in the MLB, and only two players in the NL -- Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pete Alonso of the New York Mets -- have more RBI than him with 34.

How has he gotten in this position and what will it keep to remain in the race?

When the team needs a clutch hit and Flores is at the plate, he has delivered with regularity.

“It’s not out of the realm of possibilities, but Flores might have to keep up something close to his current .429 batting average with runners in scoring position, which comes with a .686 slugging percentage. It helps that the Giants don’t have a prototypical slugger taking RBI chances from Flores, who has 19 RBIs from the No. 7 spot in the batting order,” wrote Jeffrey Lutz of MLB.com.

Having on-base machines such as center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and third baseman Matt Chapman ahead of him in the lineup certainly helps, as well.

His career-high for RBI in a single season is 71, which he produced in 2023 during his breakout with the franchise.

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