Wilmer Flores’ home run power has been a pleasant surprise for the San Francisco Giants. The team expected a power surge with resigning Joc Pederson and bringing in free agents Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger. However except for Flores, the entire team has not lived up to the expectations in the home run department.
Career High
With 12 games to go Flores already has his career high in home runs. So far, he has hit 22, half of them coming after the All-Star break. He has been the Giants’ most consistent hitter and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he has hit 13 of San Francisco’s 37 home runs since July 17. He has an 8.4 percent home run rate during that span, fourth-highest in MLB, and those 13 home runs since then are tied for the fifth-most in baseball.
Aggressive Approach
Wilmer Flores’ home run power comes from taking more of an aggressive approach in the strike zone, creating more power from his lower half. Assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero and director of hitting Dustin Lind have worked on his approach at the plate and being more selective at what pitches to swing at and it has succeeded.
Soft Spoken
A soft-spoken leader both on the field and in the clubhouse, you can say Flores singlehandedly has kept this team in contention for a Wild Card spot. He is one of the guys everybody looks up to especially if the team is struggling. His calm demeanor and love of the game are what makes him so approachable.
Offense and Defense
Flores has excelled not only with his offense, but defensively as well. He has played really well at first base and then fills in admirably at third base. Offensively, along with leading the team in home runs, he leads them in batting average, slugging, and total bases. With the team struggling on offense, partly due to the injuries to Brandon Crawford, Mike Yastrzemski, and Haniger, they have leaned on him over the past month.
30 Home Run Player
Wilmer Flores home run power has been a pleasant surprise. If he continues that surge and can get to 30 home runs or more this season, he will be the first player since Barry Bonds to accomplish this feat since 2004. The closest since then was in 2021 when Brandon Belt hit 29 home runs before breaking his thumb to end his season.
Playoff Push
The Giants have been hanging around the second half of the season in the Wild Card race. However, they have been the worst offensive team in MLB for more than a month. While Flores’ home run count has given the team and fans something to watch, one guy—even Wilmer Flores—will not be able to carry them into the playoffs. They will need the other power hitters along with Flores to get some consistency in their offense if they hope to grab a spot.
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