One Reason San Francisco Giants' Slumping Superstar Can Turn Things Around Quickly

It's been a slow start for the San Francisco Giants' big offseason acquisition, but there is one major reason for optimism.

Apr 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (2) reacts after after hitting home run during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have been the talk of the baseball world early in the 2025 regular season because of their hot start.

They are 12-5 out of the gate, but have the unfortunate luck of being stuck in the National League West, where the San Diego Padres have been even better at 14-4 and the Los Angeles Dodgers are 13-6.

Keeping pace with them will be a challenge, as they are two of the best teams in baseball.

But, there are reasons to believe that the Giants are capable of sticking around and competing for a playoff spot, if not the NL West crown.

What provides arguably the most optimism for their future is that their biggest free agency addition, shortstop Willy Adames, has yet to truly get going.

Expected to provide an infusion of power to the lineup, Adames has only one home run and three doubles in his first 76 plate appearances. He has a .206/.276/.294 slash line with -0.5 WAR.

Certainly not the kind of start anyone was hoping for after he agreed to a seven-year, $182 million deal this past winter, which was the biggest contract in franchise history.

Adames is too talented a player to continue producing at the level he has to this point. And on Monday, he started showing some signs of breaking out.

When he is playing at his best, he is spraying the ball all over the field with power. His first home run of the season finally came on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies, snapping a drought of 68 homerless plate appearances to open the season.

He hit a career-high 32 long balls last year, 14 of which went to center field, right center field and right field.

Pulling the ball is his bread-and-butter, but when it comes to unlocking his power potential, it comes from hitting the ball all over the field. About 14 of his 33 doubles were in the same spots as his non-pulled home runs.

In the early going, Adames has not been hitting the ball the other way with as much regularity as he did in 2024. But this early in the season, all it takes is one or two good games for numbers to shift dramatically and statistics to spike.

Adames is one of the most offensively productive shortstops in baseball. His first three weeks with San Francisco haven’t reflected that, but Monday night provided a good glimpse at what is to come when he starts heating up.