Turner Hill’s rise through Triple-A has started to look less like a hot streak and more like a real push for a call-up.
On Wednesday, the Giants’ undrafted free-agent outfielder was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month for July after hitting .422 in 102 plate appearances. It was the kind of month that turns heads fast, and Hill didn’t just collect singles along the way - he kept the pressure on pitchers from start to finish.
The production has carried him well beyond one strong stretch. Since reaching Triple-A, Hill is hitting .348/.419/.507 with eight home runs, 55 RBI and 58 runs in 342 plate appearances. He has also drawn 36 walks against 29 strikeouts, and he leads the PCL in batting average.
July was his loudest month yet. Hill posted a .422/.490/.611 line with two home runs, 15 RBI and 19 runs in 102 plate appearances.
He also stole eight bases in 10 attempts. In game after game, he seemed to be piling up multiple hits.
The approach is doing a lot of the work. Hill grinds through at-bats, doesn’t chase much and puts the bat on the ball when pitches are in the zone.
That combination has given him plenty of walks and a steady stream of balls in play. He sprays line drives all over the field, though most of his extra-base damage has come in the form of doubles and triples.
The Giants have been building around that kind of hitter profile since Buster Posey took over as president of baseball operations. They’ve looked for more contact in free agency, most notably by adding Luis Arráez in the offseason, and they’ve kept targeting contact-oriented bats in the draft and in undrafted free agency.
Hill is part of that group, alongside Dayson Croes, Nate Furman, Trevor Cohen and Diego Velasquez, all of whom have shown that same contact-first skill set in the upper minors this season. Furman has already been called up and is still searching for his first hit, though he has put together some solid at-bats early on.
Hill has cooled some in August, hitting .412 in four games this month, but there’s still plenty of runway left. And with the Giants reshuffling their outfield mix, his path is getting easier to see.
Drew Gilbert is still getting work in center field, Jung Hoo Lee has right field covered, and there are at-bats open in left. Grant McCray has been getting more run, though the results have not fully followed yet. After the Heliot Ramos trade, Hill looks like a legitimate candidate to be next in line.
There’s also the matter of how the Giants are handling his defense. Bo Davidson and Scott Bandura are both in the outfield mix and are considered among the organization’s best prospects at the position, but Hill continues to get reps in center. That could say plenty about how the Giants view him.
In Other News...
Giants Viral Dugout Joke Just Made An Awkward Situation Even Worse
A lighthearted moment in the Giants dugout briefly cut through the mood in a game against the Texas Rangers, when rookie catcher Daniel Susac doubled and celebrated with a scooter-handlebars gesture. The bit was an unmistakable reference to teammate Harrison Bader, whose recent scooter accident has already become one of the stranger storylines of San Franciscos season.
The timing only sharpened the awkwardness around Bader, who aggravated his left foot in the mishap and is now in a situation that has drawn extra attention inside and outside the clubhouse. The celebration spread quickly on social media because of the context around it, turning what looked like a throwaway dugout joke into another reminder that this accident is carrying real baseball consequences for the Giants. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans Can Already See The Krukow Succession Taking Shape
Mike Krukows retirement after this season has already sent Giants fans looking ahead to the next voice in the booth, and the early conversations around his succession have a familiar feel. The club has been giving former players some broadcasting opportunities, which makes sense for a team that has long valued continuity, institutional memory and people who know the organization from the inside.
Hunter Pence, Shawn Estes and Javier Lopez are among the names being discussed because each brings some combination of broadcast experience and a direct tie to the Giants. Pence has been especially visible in the mix, while Lopezs path is complicated by his front-office duties, leaving the eventual shape of the booth still very much in motion as the post-Krukow era starts to take form. [Read more 🡒]
Buster Posey Got The Perfect Last Laugh On KNBR
Buster Poseys first trip back to KNBRs Murph and Markus morning show since the hot-mic slip that dinged his name carried a little extra charge, even if the conversation settled quickly into the usual baseball territory. The former Giants catcher and front-office presence talked through the standard stuff, including recent trades and the state of the roster, but there was no missing the backdrop to the appearance.
Posey made sure to acknowledge the earlier incident with a dry warning for the hosts to check their microphones before saying anything negative about him. The line landed the way a good callback should, and the show handled it with humor, turning an awkward old moment into a pretty clean last laugh. [Read more 🡒]