What Went Wrong for Two Former Pieces of San Francisco’s Future?
After some impressive runs at the big-league level, Tyler Fitzgerald and Luis Matos now find themselves outside the Giants organization.
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It’s been a rough decade for the San Francisco Giants when it comes to the development of top ranked prospects. Names like Joey Bart and Marco Luciano were supposed to save the franchise but, instead, turned into DFA candidates.
However, two names that are currently seeing their way out of San Francisco sting just bit more. Both Luis Matos and Tyler Fitzgerald have seen success at the big-league level in short stints. If they were able to extrapolate those runs into longer, more consistent periods of time, they’d still be with the club.
Now, with a fresh regime and new manager, they find themselves on the outside looking in.
Tyler Fitzgerald
It’s been an interesting road for the former Opening Day second baseman. After getting drafted in the fourth round in 2019, Fitzgerald was an above-average hitter at virtually every stop in the minors.
Combine that with his blazing speed and above-average athleticism, and the Giants had an intriguing prospect on their hands. While he was never a highly touted prospect, he steadily climbed through the levels and when the 2024 season came, the Giants liked Fitzgerald as a utility guy.
He made the Opening Day roster but wasn’t getting a ton of playing time. He’d eventually get optioned but return to the big leagues shortly after. Once that happened, he did something special.
In the early parts of July, he took over as the team’s everyday shortstop. He’d go on to be one of the best hitters in baseball for the next month.
From July 9 to August 5, Fitzgerald slashed .359/.423/.953 in 71 plate appearances, which was good for a 269 wRC+. He also added an astonishing 11 home runs and 18 RBIs.
The 1.7 fWAR he accumulated in that stretch was seventh in baseball, ahead of names like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Francisco Lindor, José Ramirez, Elly De La Cruz, and several other superstars. His .953 slugging percentage led the league and his 11 home runs was tied for the top spot with Ketel Marte.
This run alone was a huge contributor in Fitzgerald quickly becoming a future piece for San Francisco. The 3.0 fWAR he posted in just 96 games through the entire season led to him being penciled in as the next year’s Opening Day shortstop, until San Francisco signed Willy Adames.
Unfortunately, after starting the 2025 season as the squad’s everyday second baseman, Fitzgerald wasn’t able to replicate that run. In 72 games, he slashed just .217/.278/.327 with a mere four home runs.
With names like Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss providing solid contributions throughout the year, he got leapfrogged on the depth charts. Fast forward to a few days ago, and Fitzgerald was designated for assignment to make room for another arm on the Giants’ 40-man roster.
After one of the most impressive runs by a rookie we’ve seen in recent memory, Fitzgerald quickly fell out of San Francisco’s future plans. While there’s always a chance he clears waivers and returns to the organization that drafted him, his best path forward may be elsewhere.
Luis Matos
Luis Matos is a slightly different story. After signing as a free agent out of Venezuela in 2019, Matos quickly came into his own. After some strong years to open his professional career, he climbed as high as the third-ranked prospect in the Giants’ system.
Now, in 2023, former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi wanted to bring some energy into the Giants’ clubhouse in the midst of yet another .500 season in San Francisco. His solution was to call up the top-ranked outfield prospect, despite him being just 21 years of age.
It seemed early, but Matos was a comfortably above-average hitter at every stop in the minors. His rookie campaign wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t anything to write home about.
The next season was when Matos would start to make a name for himself. Jung Hoo Lee was one of the Giants biggest free-agent acquisitions heading into the season, but a scary collision with the center field wall would led to season-ending shoulder surgery.
This opened the door for Matos, and he’d begin his 2024 campaign with guns blazing. In the week between May 13 and May 18, Matos would go nuclear. He slashed .455/.455/.864 with 16 RBIs and an otherworldly 1.318 OPS.
This led to him being named the National League’s Player of the Week and looking like the surefire solution in center field until Lee returned the next season.
Similar to Fitzgerald, things were unfortunately never quite the same.
In Matos’ 314 big-league plate appearances that would follow his impressive week, he’d underwhelm in every facet. He’d hit just over the Mendoza line with a .203 bating average and be significantly below league average at the plate with a 65 wRC+.
With him being a poor defender in the outfield, the one thing he had going for him was the fact that he didn’t strike out very often. While Buster Posey and the Giants’ current front office typically like that in a player, Matos simply wasn’t doing enough when he did put the ball in play.
After being DFA’d on this year’s Opening Night to make room for Jared Oliva, Matos now finds himself with the Milwaukee Brewers. With them being the gold standard in terms of player development, he joins Kyle Harrison as another former Giant looking for a career rejuvenation in Milwaukee.
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Written by
Michael Monreal got his start in baseball media when he started his own website covering the San Francisco Giants after playing two years of college baseball.…