Jung Hoo Lee Is Hitting .571 in His Last 7 Games and the Giants Need It

After a season injury during his rookie year, Jung Hoo Lee has found his groove again.

San Francisco Giants right fielder Jung Hoo Lee | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

When the San Francisco Giants signed Jung Hoo Lee in December of 2023, they had done their scouting homework and made him the highest-paid Korean-born hitter in MLB history. The $113 million contract was historic.

As fans watched the outfielder crash into the center field wall on May 12, 2024, it was immediately apparent he was hurt. The brutal wreck dislocated his shoulder and ultimately a torn labrum was revealed. He was out. A season ending injury for the standout rookie.

Six months of rehab and a lost season followed.

"This could be one of the most disappointing seasons I've had," Lee said at the time, per MLB.com. "For now, I'm just trying to think about it more optimistically — not the past, but the future."

Well, seventeen months later, I wonder if this is the future Lee envisioned?

What Lee Is Doing Right Now

Through his first 57 games of the 2026 season, Lee is slashing .324/.359/.449 with an .808 OPS. Those are excellent numbers for an outfielder, but recently, Lee has completely upped his game.

Zooming in on the last seven games, his stats are jaw-dropping. He is hitting .571 with a .586 on-base percentage and .679 slugging. He has 16 hits to his credit in 28 at-bats in those seven games. Zoom out a little to his last 15 games and he is still hitting .466 with a .621 slugging percentage. Zoom out a little more to the last 30 and he’s at .352.

The 27-year-old isn’t just hot, the guy is on fire, and it just keeps getting better it seems.

Baseball is baseball, right, and this isn’t the way it has always been in the 2026 season for Lee. The game logs tell a much different story at the beginning of the year. Remarkably, after March 30, Lee was hitting a dismal .077. Pitchers had found ways to take advantage of him, and he certainly couldn’t find his footing.

Then something changed.

Surrounded By a Struggling Team

The Giants need absolutely everything Lee has to offer right now and then some more. San Francisco is holding a record of 26-39, placing them fourth in the National League West and an eye-popping 15.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants are only trailed in the division by the struggling Colorado Rockies.

Lee’s individual success is surrounded by a frustrating reality. The Giants lead MLB in hits and doubles, and they even rank third in batting average at a team .258. So, on paper, the offense is doing its job.

The problem is the pitching staff, which happens to rank 24th in ERA at 4.52 and 24th in WHIP at 1.41. San Francisco is putting runs on the board and then easily just handing them right back.

Until pitching stabilizes, the wins won’t come, regardless of how hot Lee may be, or anyone else for that matter.

What Comes Next

The Giants have placed Lee in both right field and center field this year, and that may be an attempt to protect him from another wall collision. He has played center just 10 times versus right 55 games. For a player of his caliber, this strategy seems logical.

The Giants are fading in the NL West, so the focus is likely shifting to building this team up. Lee is a cornerstone of that plan, or he should be.