Davis wins over some Giants fans
Bum rodeo revelation surprises former team
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. » It’s way too soon to know which Giants outfielders will break camp with the club and make the Opening Day roster, but many of the organization’s top decision-makers are quietly rooting for Jaylin Davis to make their choice easy.
Davis, who was acquired at the 2019 trade deadline in a deal that sent reliever Sam Dyson to the Twins, might have the highest ceiling of any young outfielder in camp and he showcased his potential in an 11-9 victory over the Diamondbacks on Monday.
In three plate appearances against Arizona, Davis, 25, ripped a pair of extra-base hits to the left center field gap that resulted in a double and a triple and also grounded out. Many Giants hitters would have pulled up at second base on the second ball Davis drilled into the alley, but he hustled out of the box, put pressure on the defense and turned a potential stand-up double into the Giants’ second triple of the spring.
“(Jaylin) talked about how in his last game, he was seeing the
ball but he was just a touch late,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Today he felt like he was really on time and he made that adjustment and as a result he really saw the ball well and struck the ball well.”
After starting in right field on Saturday in the Giants’ Cactus League opener, Davis entered Monday’s game as a substitute and played center field when minor league free-agent Billy Hamilton exited.
Davis wasn’t challenged much defensively, but he clearly has the speed required to excel in the middle of the outfield despite having limited experience in center field in the minor leagues.
If it turns out Davis profiles better in the corner of the outfield, the Giants will live with that as long as he turns his raw power into results at the major league level.
MADISON BUMGARNER’S ALTER-EGO STUNS GIANTS » Bruce Bochy couldn’t help but chuckle.
“There’s some things that (Madison) has done, but I mean, this one tops all,” Bochy said on Monday. “Mason...”
“Mason Saunders” is the alias former Giants ace Madison Bumgarner has reportedly used on the teamroping circuit for years. In a story published by The Athletic, Bumgarner confirmed he’s been participating in team-roping competitions and in some cases, winning them.
The news surprised some Giants players, but it didn’t catch everyone off-guard. Catcher Buster Posey, one of Bumgarner’s close friends, knew Bumgarner was involved in team-roping but said he never attended a rodeo where his former battery-mate competed.
It wasn’t the fact Bumgarner was spending his free time roping that made Bochy do a double-take. It was the idea of Bumgarner having an alter-ego and using a fake name.
“It’s quite the story,” Bochy said. “It’s hard to believe it’s just now getting out with his presence and who he is, that somebody didn’t leak this out earlier.”
In a December competition, “Saunders” and his teammate Jaxson Tucker reportedly won a competition in Wickenburg, Arizona where the prize money was north of $26,000. To Bochy, that was the best part of the story.
“He won, right? I mean, geez,” Bochy said. “That’s even more impressive.” SMYLY CHOSE GIANTS BECAUSE OF ANALYTICS » Left-hander Drew Smyly made his first start of the spring Monday and worked a scoreless 1 2/3 innings against a D’backs lineup that featured regulars including Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta.
Smyly’s best pitch of the day was a tailing 94-mile per hour two-seam fastball he used to strike out outfielder Trayce Thompson (brother of Warriors star Klay Thompson) and after his outing, Smyly explained that he’s no longer pitching with the concern of re-injuring his surgically repaired left elbow.
Smyly missed the entire 2017 and 2018 seasons due to his elbow injury and said he finally felt normal again on the mound around the 2019 All-Star break. When asked what he liked about his fit with the Giants, Smyly said the organization offered an analytical approach that should help him maximize his potential.
“I knew they were advanced in analytics and I knew that they could steer me in the right direction and help me continue to
improve,” Smyly said. “I just feel really comfortable with the coaching staff.”
Smyly opened the 2019 season with the Texas Rangers but was designated for assignment in June after a miserable 13game stretch that included nine starts. He signed a minor league deal with the Brewers, but opted out and joined Kapler’s Philadelphia Phillies team.
“He’s finally had a healthy offseason with his arm and now is significantly removed from his Tommy John surgery, you can see some of that velocity be more consistent,” Kapler said. “The dream scenario is that he’s the guy he was in Tampa or Detroit or even in the last start he had for us in Philadelphia last year.”
After a 12-start stint in Philadelphia that included a 10-strikeout performance against the Washington Nationals in the last week of the season, Smyly agreed to a oneyear, $4 million deal with the Giants.
“There’s so much to like about playing for the San Francisco Giants,” Smyly said. “I think it’s a great pitchers’ ballpark, I wanted to be in the NL, I was familiar with (Gabe), I get to throw to Buster and that’s pretty cool.”