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If you’ve been reading my morning San Francisco Giants Minor League round ups, you’ve probably caught onto my excitement about outfielder Jaylin Davis, who has shown great improvement at the AAA level. And now the outfield slugger will get a chance to prove that his improvement can translate to the MLB level.
The Giants are calling up Davis, a righty, for their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He replaces left-handed outfielder Mike Tauchman, who was placed on the Injured List after an awkward fall while making a highlight catch on Tuesday.
ROSTER MOVES: OF Mike Tauchman placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 30) with a right knee sprain.
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 1, 2021
OF Jaylin Davis returned from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated from the 60-day injured list.
Davis has had an interesting journey since the Giants acquired him in 2019, as one-third of the package they received for sending Sam Dyson to the Minnesota Twins. He got a call up at the end of the season, and made his MLB debut, but struggled, hitting 7-42 with 1 home run, no other extra-base hits, and 3 walks to 11 strikeouts.
He made the Opening Day roster in 2020, but stumbled out of the gates, hitting 2-12 with 1 home run, 0 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He was optioned, and the Giants were rather publicly transparent in their criticisms of his plate discipline and contact skills. He never returned that season.
Davis was dealt another blow this year when he suffered an injury in Spring Training, and was placed on the 60-day Injured List. But when he made his rehab assignment with the AAA Sacramento River Cats, things started to click. Davis has hit 18-57 this season, with 7 home runs, 4 doubles, and 8 walks to 19 strikeouts, good for an OPS of 1.172. It will be a lot of fun to see if he can find a groove at the big league level.
As for Tauchman, the Giants will certainly miss his glove, as he’s been a highlight reel patrolling the outfield, and has arguably won the team two games already with home run robberies. But his bat was struggling mightily — he’s hit just .180/.292/.295 since the Giants acquired him early in the season — so perhaps a break and maybe a rehab assignment can help him find his timing. And hopefully he’s not out long.
The Giants did not need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Davis due to the suspension of Gregory Santos.