{"id":142038,"date":"2026-01-19T10:47:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=142038"},"modified":"2026-01-19T10:47:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:47:07","slug":"sf-giants-urged-to-fix-rafael-devers-alarming-plate-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=142038","title":{"rendered":"SF Giants Urged To Fix Rafael Devers Alarming Plate Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

IMAGE: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Nathan Church (27) slides to the turf after he caught a fly ball to centerfield for the out on San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers (not shown) in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. \/ USA TODAY NETWORK-USA TODAY NETWORK \/ Imagn Images<\/div>\n
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Rafael Devers Brought the Power to San Francisco – Now the Giants Need Him to Cut Down the Strikeouts<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the San Francisco Giants pulled off a blockbuster deal last June to bring Rafael Devers over from Boston in a five-player trade, it was clear they were going all-in on adding a star-caliber bat to the heart of their lineup. And make no mistake – Devers delivered plenty of impact. The left-handed slugger brought his trademark power to the Bay, launching 20 home runs and driving in 51 runs in just 395 plate appearances following the trade.<\/p>\n

But amid the pop, there\u2019s one trend that jumps off the page – and not in a good way. Devers’ strikeout rate spiked to 29.4% with San Francisco, a significant jump from his career average of 22.0%. For a Giants lineup that already leans a little too heavily on high-strikeout hitters, that\u2019s a number the team simply can\u2019t afford to see stick around.<\/p>\n

The Numbers Behind the Power<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear: Devers wasn\u2019t a bust by any means. His post-trade slash line of .236\/.347\/.460 translated to a 126 wRC+, meaning he was still producing well above league average.<\/p>\n

He continued to hit for power with a .224 ISO – nearly identical to the .232 mark he posted in Boston before the trade. That kind of consistency in power output is a good sign, especially considering the change in leagues and ballparks.<\/p>\n

\"Rafael<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also true that his overall offensive numbers took a step back after the move. With the Red Sox, Devers was putting up a 146 wRC+ in 334 plate appearances – a clear notch above what he managed in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Part of that dip can be chalked up to a drop in BABIP, which fell from .322 in Boston to .294 with the Giants. That\u2019s not a massive shift, but it\u2019s enough to chip away at his average.<\/p>\n

And when you dig into his expected batting average – which sat at .234 – it suggests he wasn\u2019t necessarily unlucky. He was, more or less, getting the results his contact quality warranted.<\/p>\n

The Strikeout Spike: A Red Flag<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what\u2019s behind the strikeout surge? Interestingly, Devers\u2019 in-zone contact rate – how often he makes contact on pitches in the strike zone – didn\u2019t really fall off.<\/p>\n

In fact, it actually ticked up slightly after the trade. That\u2019s what makes the jump in strikeouts so puzzling.<\/p>\n

The real issue seems to lie in his approach. With the Red Sox, Devers swung at 73.1% of pitches in the zone.<\/p>\n

After joining the Giants, that number dropped to 66.9%. That\u2019s a significant drop in aggressiveness on hittable pitches – and when you\u2019re letting strikes go by, you\u2019re putting yourself in more two-strike counts, which naturally leads to more strikeouts.<\/p>\n

And this wasn\u2019t just a Devers problem. The Giants, as a team, have developed a reputation for being overly passive at the plate. Whether it\u2019s a product of the team\u2019s hitting philosophy, coaching, or simply the personalities of the hitters themselves, the result has been too many called strikes and too few balls put in play.<\/p>\n

A Fixable Flaw<\/strong><\/p>\n

The good news? This is a fixable issue.<\/p>\n

Devers isn\u2019t chasing pitches out of the zone at a concerning rate, and his bat speed and power are still very much intact. What he needs – and what the Giants need from him – is a return to a more aggressive mindset on pitches in the zone.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the new coaching staff comes in. Helping Devers get back to attacking strikes the way he did in Boston could go a long way toward cutting down that strikeout rate and unlocking another level of production. If he can find that balance between patience and aggression – staying selective, but not passive – the Giants could have one of the most dangerous hitters in the league anchoring their lineup.<\/p>\n

Devers is already a key piece of San Francisco\u2019s offense. But if he can tighten up his approach and get that strikeout rate back in line with his career norms, he has the potential to be a true game-changer in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IMAGE: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Nathan Church (27) slides to the turf after he caught a fly ball to centerfield for the out on San Francisco Giants… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nSF Giants Urged To Fix Rafael Devers Alarming Plate Approach - NEWS USA<\/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:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=142038\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SF Giants Urged To Fix Rafael Devers Alarming Plate Approach - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IMAGE: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Nathan Church (27) slides to the turf after he caught a fly ball to centerfield for the out on San Francisco Giants...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=142038\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-19T10:47:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-16-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=142038\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=142038\",\"name\":\"SF Giants Urged To Fix Rafael Devers Alarming Plate Approach - 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