
SAN FRANCISCO -- With some of the moves this new front office makes, you have to dig deep into the numbers.
Does an improved launch angle show that a breakout is coming? Was it the on-base percentage two years ago in Double-A that caught someone's eye? Is the spin rate on his curveball suddenly dramatically different?
But with first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin, who the Giants traded for Monday morning from the Twins, the appeal is easy to see.
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Austin, a right-handed hitter who should see plenty of time in left, has a .952 OPS in 146 career plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. The 2019 Giants have a .604 OPS against lefties and will see three more -- Eric Lauer, Joey Lucchesi and Nick Margevicius -- in a series with the Padres that starts this week.
It's a small sample, but Austin -- who hit 17 homers a year ago, beating Giants team leader Evan Longoria by one -- has averaged about one homer every 10 at-bats against left-handed pitchers, while slugging .603.
The right-handed batters on the Giants' roster have one homer against a lefty this season, and that came from starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
So, you can see the fit, and while Austin is more of a first baseman/DH type, the Giants can certainly hide him in left field with Kevin Pillar and Steven Duggar playing the other two spots.
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Pillar should be able to shade over towards left quite a bit, and Brandon Crawford has traditionally given his left fielders an extra layer of support on short pop-ups.