Resurgent San Francisco Giants Veteran is Huge Early Difference Maker

The San Francisco Giants are receiving vintage production from a veteran and it has been a key to their fast start.

Mar 29, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores (41) high fives teammates after hitting a solo home run in the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have been on a tear to start 2025 and the resurgence of a key veteran has played a large role.

During the latest power rankings from The Athletic, the Giants rose from No. 15 to now being the No. 8 team in baseball.

Writer Grant Brisbee tagged designated hitter Wilmer Flores as their biggest early difference-maker.

While Matt Chapman, Heliot Ramos and Mike Yastrzemski have all been off to wonderful starts. Flores is someone that was a real question mark heading into the campaign.

The 33-year-old looks like his vintage self out there right now and has already powered San Francisco to a couple of wins they might have had without him.

He has had a couple of huge moments this year.

Perhaps the biggest moment so far came in the opening day win over the Cincinnati Reds. A three-run home run in the ninth inning lead the Giants to a 6-4 win and really started out this year on a very nice note.

He also supplied a two-out walk-off single against the Seattle Mariners a few days ago.

Through his first 11 games of the season, Flores has a .225/.262/.525 slash line. The average and on-base percentage aren't exactly where San Francisco would want them, but the power is where it needs to be.

He already has four home runs, which matches his total from 71 games in 2024.

Last year was a real struggle for the veteran. He stated out with a .206/.277/.318 slash line and then missed over half the year due to right knee surgery to relieve tendinitis. Now that he his healthy again, perhaps he can return to his normal level of play.

His tenure with San Francisco has been an overall postive one. He was signed out of free agency in 2020 and earned a second contract that has been solid outside of that dissapointing 2024 campaign.

His 2023 season was actually the best year of his career. He hit 24 home runs and had a 137 OPS+. If he could get back to that level now that his knee is right again, it would be fantastic.

Another player that does have a claim to the "difference-maker" title would be Jung Hoo Lee.

Lee has a .300/.349/.450 slash line to start this year. With his fantastic defense in center, he is looking exactly like the type of player that the Giants envisioned when they handed over their massive contract.

If guys like Lee and Flores can keep their performances up, San Francisco will continue to surprise people as the year rolls on.