Luis González earned National League Rookie of the Month honors after the outfielder hit .368 in 23 May games.
González has been one of San Francisco’s most dependable hitters all season and ranks among the top of most hitting categories among all rookies. González is the third ever Giant to win a Rookie of the Month award, joining Pedro Feliz (2001) and Buster Posey (2010).
The Giants claimed González off waivers in August of last season. The transaction hardly registered, with most eyes locked on the team’s historic pennant race.
The White Sox had released González as a cost-saving measure. Since González suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, the only way Chicago could remove him from the 40-man roster while keeping him in the organization would have been to place him on the 60-day injured list. They’d have to pay him MLB salary and service time.
Instead, Chicago released him. The Giants picked him up and have turned him into the latest previously anonymous success story — in the mold of a LaMonte Wade Jr..
González has hit .324 with a .815 OPS for the Giants in 2022. He’s been particularly effective against right-handed pitchers, against whom he’s posted a .885 OPS. The 26-year-old had 13 career MLB plate appearances before 2022.
Manager Gabe Kapler recently told reporters González reminds him of a “throwback ’80s hitter” because of the way he uses all parts of the field.
Among all rookie hitters, González ranks fifth overall in wRC+ and 10th in WAR.
González’s scorching hot May came with a brief pause when the Giants demoted him back to Triple-A on May 16. That particular decision was one of the most difficult conversations Kapler has had as a manager, he said. The outfielder was hitting .349 at the time, but Tommy La Stella’s return from the IL created a roster crunch.
But when González returned four days after getting optioned, he didn’t miss a beat. With his sample size of success only growing, he could be becoming undeniable.
