SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Spring training always has been a time of change for Giants outfielder Austin Slater.
Not this spring.
Slater’s swing mirrors the one that produced a .282 batting average in 31 games last season. His approach at the plate remains the same. So do the people around him; Gabe Kapler is still the manager, Donnie Ecker and Dustin Lind still the hitting coaches.
The bottom line: Slater has a .409 batting average, four home runs, 10 RBI, two stolen basesand a 1.480 OPS in 22 at-bats this spring.
“There’s no denying that he’s producing power, seeing pitches, working good at-bats,” Kaplersaid.
Slater, 28, an eighth-round draft choice from Stanford in 2014, has crushed left-handed pitching in his four partial seasons with the Giants. He has a .290 batting average, a .446 slugging percentage and an .823 OPS in 265 plate appearances against lefties.Against righties, his slash line is .237/.349/.647 in 383 plate appearances.
This spring, though, Slater is showing the ability to be a full-time player. All four of hisCactus League home runs have come against righties.
“I’m pretty happy with the results so far, especially to be able to do it off righties,” Slater said.“My timing feels really good. I’m locked in and I feel like I’m swinging at the right pitches.”
With camp breaking next week, it appears that the Giants have another offensive weapon for the regular season. It’s something the organization has suspected since last season when Slater produced a 152 OPS+, a number that ranked No. 28 in MLB among hitters (minimum 30 games) and tied with Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager.
Overall, Slater had a .282/.402/.506 line with five home runs and just 104 plate appearances. (He also stole eight bases.) Slater believes he can maintain that level of production, health permitting. He was limited last season by an elbow injury in mid-August.
“My biggest goal this season is to stay healthy and stay on the field,” Slater said. “I felt like Icould have done more for us. We were so close last year and I felt like I could have contributed more had I stayed healthy.”
Kapler said the Giants identified last spring that Slater could be more than a platoon player. This spring there is supporting evidence.
“It’s really hard to deny that Slater is having equally good at-bats against right-handed pitching as he is against left-handed pitching,” Kapler said.
Still, it doesn’t sound as if that will translate into full-time play for Slater, at least not immediately.
“We have such a high-quality mix-and-match roster at the plate with a bunch of left-handed bats and a bunch of right-handed bats,” Kapler said. “It may turn out that he sees more of his reps against left-handed pitching.”
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