MLB rumors: 5 prospects who can help Giants in 2019

Ryan Howard

As we’ve said before, the Giants are one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to batting average. When a team has one of its starters hitting under .200, and no starters hitting over .300, it shouldn’t expect to be anywhere besides the bottom of the league.

Ryan Howard isn’t a player that’s going to knock the life out of the ball, but he can play all infield positions and has shown he can hit for average in the past. He’s had a rough start to the season, but is playing better since he was sent to AAA. Obviously, not many are impressed with a .247 batting average, but his versatility could help the Giants immediately.

Coaches have been working with him to provide more pop in his swing, but that just led to more fly ball outs instead of extra-base hits. If he gets back to the Majors, he’ll just need to get on base, which is an issue up and down this Giants lineup. If he were to get called up, the Major League coaches might want him to go back to his old swing so he can be a quantity hitter.

As a utility player, Howard being a right-handed hitter helps. The Giants currently have a lot of left-handed hitters in the lineup, especially in the infield. Howard could give manager Bruce Bochy some much-needed choices in his daily lineup. Howard won’t light the world on fire, but he will give the Giants versatility.