San Francisco Giants Exciting Young Star Named to MLB All-Rookie Second Team

The San Francisco Giants did not make the playoffs in 2024, missing out for the seventh time in the last eight years as the team continues to hover right around the 80-win mark.

Someone who was not a reason why things didn’t go according to plan was rookie infielder Tyler Fitzgerald. He burst onto the scene this season as a 27-year-old and played whatever role was needed in both the infield and outfield.

For his efforts, he was named to the 2024 MLB Pipeline All-Rookie Second Team at shortstop.

Fitzgerald shined most in the infield, both at second base and shortstop, but it was his numbers at the plate that were extremely impressive in his 96 games played.

In 314 at-bats, Fitzgerald slashed .280/.334/.497 with 15 home runs, 34 RBI, 19 doubles, and two triples. He put up an OPS+ of 136 and was also valuable on the base paths with 17 stolen bases.

As a fourth round selection in the 2019 MLB draft out of Louisville, expectations were never exactly sky high for Fitzgerald. He never put up supremely gaudy numbers in the minor leagues as just a career .265 hitter in three full seasons, but it was 2023 when he really began to show some progress.

Fitzgerald was hitting .334 at the Double-A level that season before the team promoted him to Triple-A where he continued to rake in the remaining 102 games.

Hitting .287 with 20 home runs, it was evident that he was getting close to being a Major League player. The team promoted him towards the end of the year, giving him 10 games at the end of September before he became a fixture in 2024.

During the summer when the team was still very much involved in the playoff race, Fitzgerald became just the eighth Giant since 1900, and the first since Barry Bonds, to hit home runs in five consecutive games.

As the team looks to take the next step towards becoming a contender once again, Fitzgerald looks to be a key part of San Francisco’s future plans.