Lewis Brinson Has A Giant Opportunity To Show That He Can Stick In The Major Leagues

LOS ANGELES – Lewis Brinson is getting one giant chance.

On September 1st, Brinson was traded from the Houston Astros to the San Francisco Giants. He had spent the entire 2022 season up to that point in Houston’s minor league system, but ever since the trade, he has been up in the majors.

So far in seven games played for the orange and black (as of Friday afternoon) he is hitting .263, with three home runs and four RBI. He has an on-base percentage of .263 and a slugging percentage of .789.

 

 

Before being a journeyman in the MLB, Brinson was one of baseball’s most exciting young prospects. Scouts were mesmerized by his raw power, his speed, and his strong throwing arm. He ended up being selected with the 29th overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft and was traded to the Brewers in 2016 as a part of a package deal for the former All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

On June 10th, 2017, Brinson would make his MLB debut with the Brewers. He ended up playing 21 games for them, and he was nothing short of atrocious. He batted .106, only had two home runs, three RBI, an on-base percentage of .236 and a slugging percentage of .277. He ended up getting sent back down, and was absolutely sensational, posting a .331/.400/.562 statline for the entire season.

Brinson got traded the following offseason to the Miami Marlins in a package deal for Christian Yelich. After his terrific 2017 minor league season, he would make the Marlins 2018 Opening Day roster. Derek Jeter was Marlins CEO at the time, and he was very high on Brinson.

 

 

He would play in 109 games for the team that season, and once again was a major letdown, as he only batted .199, with 11 home runs and 42 RBI. In his four seasons in south beach, he could not crack a batting average above .226, leading the team to designate Brinson for assignment after the 2021 season. Eventually Jeter was gone due to a difference in philosophy and Brinson was as well.

This season, when Brinson showed flashes of his amazing potential during a stint in Houston’s farm system, as he ended his tenure there with a .299/.356/.574 slashline, strong enough for the Giants to pull the trigger and acquire him for the home stretch of the season.

Brinson is now 28 years old and with his fifth major league organization. He is not that young player that you could understand struggling in the big leagues, he is now in the beginning of his prime.

 

 

If he does not show that he has finally gotten rid of his hitting woes in San Francisco for these last 20+ games, then there’s going to be a huge consensus that this guy may not be able to hang in the majors, even as a journeyman.