Jaylin Davis had a hard-luck season

Our next player on the list of San Francisco Giants season reviews is one you may have forgot played this year: outfielder Jaylin Davis.

2021 review

5 games, 1-9, 1 double, 1 strikeout, -0.1 fWAR, -0.1 rWAR

Jaylin Davis had rotten luck. Let’s just get that out there. We can admit it: he had rotten luck.

Davis has been fighting an uphill battle with the Giants for a while. He made the Opening Day roster in 2020, but was optioned after a week and never returned.

This year he got tendinitis during Spring Training, not only costing him a shot at the Opening Day roster, but hurting his development, as well.

But he made his way back. The Giants were transparent about needing him to work on his contact skills, and he did exactly that.

By the time the Giants called him up on July 1 to replace the injured Mike Tauchman, Davis was sporting a 1.172 OPS in AAA Sacramento, with an improved strikeout to walk ratio.

And then was injured, again, after just nine plate appearances. And when he got healthy he again found himself staring at a locker room in Sacramento.

This time he cooled off. A second call-up would be hard enough as is, but with every rough day hitting, it became harder. By the time the season ended, Davis’ OPS had slipped more than .300 points, to .820.

He continued to show the reasons for being excited about him, in the form of powerful swings and quality defense. But bad luck — and some mediocre performances along the way — once again caught up to him.

Role in 2022

Davis is still on the 40-man roster, but with Rule 5 protections and free agents set to soon take up valuable real estate on the 40-man, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Davis designated for assignment.

But if he makes it through the offseason, expect him to have a similar role in 2022: A talented Minor League depth piece who might make his way to the Majors if things work out a little smoother this time.

Grade: Incomplete