{"id":4817,"date":"2026-07-18T15:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4817"},"modified":"2026-07-18T15:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:36:40","slug":"why-adames-will-be-instrumental-to-sf-giants-second-half-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4817","title":{"rendered":"Why Adames will be instrumental to SF Giants’ second-half hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SEATTLE \u2014 Bryce Eldridge couldn\u2019t help but notice the quality of Willy Adames\u2019 swings during batting practice on Friday evening.<\/p>\n

Read more Who\u2019s playing in the World Cup today? TV schedule for July 18<\/a><\/p>\n

Eldridge remarked following the Giants\u2019 7-0 win over the Mariners that Adames looked good and looked fresh. That feeling carried into game. Adames hit his 16th home run of the season, an opposite-field grand slam that fueled San Francisco\u2019s first win of the second half.<\/p>\n

If the Giants (42-55) are going to have any chance of crawling back into contention, they will need more nights like that from their shortstop.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t just be Willy and (Matt Chapman) and (Rafael) Devers. It\u2019s got to be everyone. It\u2019s a team effort. But when those guys are at their best, we\u2019ve shown what this offense is capable of. Like, this team\u2019s unstoppable,\u201d said Eldridge, whose two-run homer in the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie. \u201cFor those guys to be at their best is a dangerous thing. It was good to see Willy hit that grand slam tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The onus of offense does not fall solely on any one player\u2019s shoulders. Still, the Giants need much, much more out of Adames, who is on pace for his worst season since he was a rookie in 2018.<\/p>\n

Adames entered the All-Star break ranked 136th out of 149 qualified players in WAR, per FanGraphs\u2019 formula. His .701 OPS ranked 111th, while his .281 on-base percentage ranked 141st.<\/p>\n

The lack of consistent offense wasn\u2019t the only issue, either. At the break, Adames was tied with the Washington Nationals\u2019 CJ Abrams for the fewest outs above average (-11) among all shortstops, making him metrically one of the worst defenders in baseball. That doesn\u2019t exactly bode well for the Giants, who are only in the second year of Adames\u2019 seven-year, $182 million deal.<\/p>\n

Despite Adames\u2019 subpar production to this point, the Giants have been one of the game\u2019s better offenses since suffering through a frigid first month.<\/p>\n

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Entering Friday, the Giants ranked fourth in the majors in OPS (.763) since the beginning of May. Adames, though, has only been a slightly above-average hitter, slashing .247\/.302\/.455 with 12 home runs from May through the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

One of the most curious aspects of Adames\u2019 season has been his sharp decline in walk rate.<\/p>\n

Adames entered this season with a career 10 percent walk rate, as well as an 11.2 percent walk rate from 2023-2025. Adames\u2019 walk rate has cratered to a career-low 6.5 percent walk. It should come as no surprise that Adames\u2019 decline in walks has coincided with the highest chase rate of his career. That inability to draw walks gets amplified on a team like the Giants, which has the worst walk rate in baseball.<\/p>\n

The Giants have seen what Adames is capable of producing when he really gets rolling. Adames started last season slowly but looked like an All-Star over his last 95 games, hitting 25 home runs and with an .848 OPS, He became the first Giant to hit at least 30 homers in a single season since Barry Bonds.<\/p>\n

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San Francisco needs a lot to go right \u2014 and then some \u2014 in order to have any shot at competing for a wild-card spot. A big second half from Adames would go a long way toward that goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of our main leaders, and those guys follow him just as much as anybody,\u201d said manager Tony Vitello.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose office building linked to WeWork founder flops into default over failed loan<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Willy Adames hit his second grand slam of the season in Friday’s 7-0 victory as the Giants came out of the MLB All-Star break with a win in Seattle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Adames will be instrumental to SF Giants’ second-half hopes - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4817\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Adames will be instrumental to SF Giants’ second-half hopes - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Willy Adames hit his second grand slam of the season in Friday's 7-0 victory as the Giants came out of the MLB All-Star break with a win in Seattle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4817\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-18T15:36:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4817#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4817\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Why Adames will be instrumental to SF Giants’ second-half hopes\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-18T15:36:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4817\"},\"wordCount\":617,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4817#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/cc132873b9fde1dee33bcdc4daa29dbe.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4817#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4817\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4817\",\"name\":\"Why Adames will be instrumental to SF Giants’ second-half hopes - 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