The influx of youngsters has helped revive a mediocre Giants team that is now firing on all cylinders.
Before infielder Casey Schmitt made his debut for the club on May 9, the Giants were 15-19 and looking for a spark. Since then, San Francisco (26-25) is 11-6 and climbed above .500 for the first time all season after a 15-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday at American Family Field .
The Giants totaled 19 hits, nine of which came from rookies Schmitt (2), Patrick Bailey (4), Brett Wisely (2) and Bryce Johnson (1).
Bailey delivered the most impressive performance Friday night, going 4-for-5 at home plate with three RBIs, but perhaps the most significant performance came from Wisely, who broke through with a 2-for-5 night while blasting his second major league. home run and collecting three RBIs.
The 24-year-old infielder has shone defensively this season but struggled with the bat. Her big night was the culmination of a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
“I had the heat. I had a pretty long at-bat, spat on a good curveball there with two hits,” Wisely said, breaking down his third-inning homer with Laura Britt, Carlos Ramirez and Rich Aurilia on “Giants Postgame Live.” “Just pick up something and put a good swing on it and the ball kind of flew at me.”
“I feel good, I worked a lot in the cage with (Giants batting coach Justin Viele) to make my swing feel pretty good. I just kind of put together some good batsmen.”
Speaking with reporters after the game, Giants manager Gabe Kapler praised Wisely for his performance and explained why he’s shaping up to be a good hitter in the majors.
“I was especially happy to have some big Wisely drummers there,” Kapler said. “Obviously the three-run home run, the double-line drive in the opposite direction, there’s something to be excited about.
“The bat speed is totally intact, even when he swings and misses you can see the bat whistle in the area. Watching him during batting practice, it’s a good short swing and clean and he can drive the ball to the opposite court. As we saw tonight he can elevate it on the pull side. There are a lot of tools to dream about, he’s kind of only a few at-bats above Double-A, including his major league at-bats and so there’s a ton of ceiling in there for Brett Wisely and we want to see as much of that as possible.”
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Despite the continued success of two of the Giants’ top prospects on Friday night, Wisely, in the eyes of the Giants, stole the show.
And if he continues to have success at the plate, there could be a permanent role for him throughout the season.
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