© John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Yes, you read that correctly.
Mike Krukow joined Murph & Mac Wednesday morning to discuss the remainder of spring training and how the Giants offense might look in 2019. The key will be health, but if healthy, could the Giants surprise some people in the home run department?
“Well, I think Evan Longoria is going to hit twenty plus,” Krukow said. “Last year he hit sixteen and missed a month. He was so out of whack the first couple of months of the season, after coming over to a new team after spending the first ten years of his career with one team. I think he’s in the comfort zone now, he’s had a great spring, he’s in great shape.”
Longoria led the Giants with a lackluster sixteen home runs last season. Plagued by injuries, neither Brandon Belt nor Buster Posey were able to put up big numbers in the power department. Mac Williamson revamped his swing and showed a lot of promise last summer before his season was cut short due to a concussion.
“I think Buster will hit around twenty, he’s got his legs back. We keep waiting for Belt, he’s always had a chance to hit twenty. He’s having a great spring and swinging the bat well right now, but when he got to camp, he kept the same weight as last year but with six percent less body fat. I think those three guys can do it, but wouldn’t it be something if Mac Williamson got into that same groove as last summer? There’s a guy who can put up thirty. There’s home runs out there, but they just have to have health and good years to have them.”
Aside from Chris Shaw, Williamson is one of the Giants’ very few major league ready power threats. Given enough at-bats this season, there’s a chance Williamson could surpass everybody on the team in home runs.
Last season the Giants ranked 29th in baseball in home runs with 133. The team has struggled in the power department for as long as anyone can remember. After missing out on Bryce Harper, the Giants need the players they currently have to step up and produce big time if they hope to compete in 2019.
Listen to Krukow’s sit-down with Murph & Mac here:
