I am doing a series where I offer up three fantasy baseball thoughts for every MLB team. I look at under-the-radar stats, playing time projections, projected roles, and off-season news to try and highlight the nuggets that might help you in your 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. We’ll do this thing in alphabetical order, and this time around I’ll consider three thoughts for the 2025 San Francisco Giants.
3 Fantasy Baseball Thoughts for the 2025 San Francisco Giants
Don’t Overrate Tyler Fitzgerald
When the top prospects in the Giants’ system were talked about, Tyler Fitzgerald was never a central part of those discussions. That is, if he was even mentioned at all. Drafted from Lousiville in the fourth round of the 2019 draft though, Fitzgerald found some success in the minor leagues. At times, the batting average was a little rough, and the strikeouts could be a problem, but he showed a power/speed combination that could play.
Last year, that certainly was the case as Fitzgerald made good use of his first extended major league time. In 96 games, he hit 15 home runs while stealing 17 bases. Fitzgerald also scored 53 runs while driving in 34. With a .217 ISO, there was some real power present. The good news is that both the power and speed track to what we saw in the minor leagues.
The problem though, is that with an 8.2% barrel rate and .387 xSLG (.497 SLG), there really isn’t much more room for him to grow. We likely saw the peak of Fitzgerald’s upside, and his .280 batting average is the biggest example of that. Between his .380 BABIP and .232 xBA, Fitzgerald’s batting doesn’t appear to be sustainable.
He will be batting in the middle of the order and playing every day, at least to start the season, so there is some value. But Fitzgerald isn’t someone to be overrated either.
The Power is Real for Heliot Ramos
I feel like we’ve been waiting on this for a few years from Heliot Ramos. It’s important to remember though, that the outfielder is just now entering his age 25-season. That means there’s a lot of baseball left to be played.
Ramos played 121 games last year and hit .269 with 22 home runs and 74 RBI. We can live with a 26% strikeout rate as his xBA of .253 is still quite reasonable. After all, what happens when Ramos makes contact with the ball is what we are after. And in that department, the outfielder delivers.
We would like his average launch angle to increase from the 10.4 degrees it was last year, but it’s hard to argue with a 14.5% barrel rate and 47.4% hard hit rate. Ramos will continue to receive regular playing time in 2025 and should be a solid power contributor. While 14 of his home runs came on the road, compared to eight at home, the batting average and run production was relatively consistent.
Welcome Back Robbie Ray
With 30.2 innings over seven starts last season, we got a chance to see a healthy Robbie Ray. After two seasons marred by injury, not only is the southpaw back on the field, but he entered the offseason without any issues.
It’s hard to read too much into the small sample size, but Ray’s average fastball velocity of 94.3 miles per hour was right where it was prior to his injury. Ray also struck out 12.62 batters per nine innings on his way to a 4.70 ERA. Allowing 1.76 home runs per nine innings was the clear culprit there, but Ray’s xERA 3.78 paints a more optimistic picture.
Prior to his injury, Ray was a strong source of strikeouts and a solid rotation option. That should continue this season. Taking full advantage of the pitcher-friendly confines of the Giants’ home park will certainly help.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
