Photo: John McCoy/Icon Sportswire

I wasn’t going to publish this story today.

After learning that San Francisco Giants second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald got sent to the minors on Monday afternoon, I thought for a little while that the point of this piece was now moot.

But then Casey Schmitt, in his first start of the season at second base, made a couple of nice plays on Monday night and I realized what I’d written still made sense.

So here goes …

Ask a Giants fan about a long streak that the team is going through and they’ll likely lament the team’s lack of a 30-home run hitter. Barry Bonds had the last such season for them in 2004.

But there’s another run that goes back longer than that.

In 2003, the combination of Ray Durham, Neifi Pérez, Eric Young Sr., and Edgardo Alfonzo combined for 10 Runs Saved at second base for Giants. They haven’t finished a season with more than 10 Runs Saved at second base since then.

The team has gone through many years of that position being a defensive hole. They’ve had 7 seasons in which their second basemen have combined for at least -10 Runs Saved.  

Yes, there was a Gold Glove winner at second base in Joe Panik in 2016 (his single-season career-high was 6 Runs Saved, but other than that it’s largely been a rough go. In fact, from 2003 to 2024 Giants second basemen rank 28th in Runs Saved, better than only the Astros and Mets. From 2019 to 2024, only the A’s have fared worse. 

But things have changed in 2025. Giants second basemen rank first in the majors with 15 Runs Saved.

Most Defensive Runs Saved By Second Basemen – 2025 Season

The signing of free agent shortstop Willy Adames moved Fitzgerald to second base, the position at which he had the most experience in the minor leagues. Though Fitzgerald hasn’t hit like he did last season, he’s provided standout value with his glove. His 8 Runs Saved are already more than any Giants second baseman has had in one season. 

Fitzgerald excels on balls hit to his right. He’s converted 62 of 101 opportunities into outs, 6 outs more than his expected rate. Fitzgerald ranks 1st in how often he turns an opportunity on a ball hit to his right into an out despite rating in the bottom half of MLB in arm strength among second basemen. 

Christian Koss has played a solid second base as well. He’s arguably better defensively than Fitzgerald and is adept at moving both left and right to make plays. 

Koss had 5 Runs Saved in 26 games at second base and has as many Good Fielding Plays as Fitzgerald (6) has in 26 games. Koss has only 2 Defensive Misplays & Errors to Fitzgerald’s 9.

* SIS Video Scouts award Good Fielding Plays to 30 different types of events  and Defensive Misplays to roughly 60 types of mistakes.

Brett Wisely also filled in at second base when Fitzgerald was initially sent to the minors in late June and Koss was needed to play third base in place of Matt Chapman. He’s chipped in a Run Saved in 11 games there, giving him 6 in 98 games for his career.

Now, with Koss out with a strained hamstring and the Giants needing some offensive punch in the lineup, Schmitt got the initial call over Wisely on Monday night and passed the first test.

Schmitt has played 41 career games at second base and has 0 Runs Saved. He’s now a true utility infielder after playing mostly on the left side in the early part of his career. We’ll see if he can hold his end of the bargain up in this upcoming stretch. 

The play of their second basemen is particularly important given that the Giants pitching staff ranks 4th in the number of ground balls it has given up. The team’s infield ranks 6th in how often it turns grounders and bunts into outs this season, a good percentage given that the shortstop, Adames, doesn’t have good defensive numbers. Chapman is terrific, of course, but he can’t do it all himself.

So the next time a Giants fan talks to you about the team’s run of a lack of a 30-homer hitter continuing through this season, point out to them that there’s always hope, because a longer streak just might come to an end in 2025.