The 2025 Rafael Devers-versus-Boston saga left a lasting negative impression of the power-hitting infielder. From there, his image only spiraled after a slow start with his new team in San Francisco. Combined with the Giants’ struggles as a collective, few online had anything nice to say about Devers.
Even though Devers posted an .886 OPS over the final two months of 2025, it was too little, too late for both the Giants and baseball fans. Entering 2026, Devers repeated the cycle by slumping his way to a .284 slugging percentage in April. Again, fans quickly labeled him a failed project and a bad trade for the Giants.
That narrative needs to stop.
As a Giant, Devers is batting .248 with 53 home runs and an .831 OPS in 232 games. While he has never been a great defender, he holds his own at first base. He isn’t a wild liability on the diamond or on the basepaths, for that matter.
Since coming to San Francisco, Devers ranks seventh in home runs among all hitters. He also ranks in the top 20 in OPS, slugging percentage and wRC+ over that span. His numbers leave no room for any “washed” talk.
That is just the most recent chapter of what has been a constant throughout Devers’ career.
The model of consistency as a power hitter
Across eight full seasons, Devers has averaged 32.1 home runs per year. He is already up to 33 long balls in 2026, putting him on pace for 35 or more by season’s end. In five of those eight seasons, he reached the 30-homer mark.
Since 2019, Devers has posted an .850 OPS or better in every single season. Dating back to that breakout year, he ranks in the top 10 among all hitters in home runs, OPS and slugging percentage. There is nothing to say about Devers except that he has been a star year after year.
His slugging percentage has dipped below .450 only once, in 2018, when he was 21 years old. For reference, the league average for slugging percentage is roughly .400. He remains well above that mark every season, without fail.
Trusting his process
Devers doesn’t just serve as an example of consistency; he also stands out as a leader of the high-strikeout, high-power community. You have already seen his home run totals, but here is what he sacrificed to get there:
- 2017: 26.4% whiff rate
- 2018: 27.5% whiff rate
- 2019: 24.0% whiff rate
- 2020: 31.7% whiff rate
- 2021: 27.7% whiff rate
- 2022: 28.2% whiff rate
- 2023: 26.1% whiff rate
- 2024: 30.9% whiff rate
- 2025: 31.6% whiff rate
- 2026: 29.1% whiff rate
That is a lot of numbers, but the key is simple: Devers gives some to get some. He will swing and miss often, but it does not appear to affect the rest of his game. He continues to be aggressive, swing away and put up big offensive numbers.
This is significant because only a select few up-and-coming hitters share that trait. Big power bats can struggle to stomach striking out that often and change their approach in response. Devers is evidently the opposite; he hasn’t changed a thing.
Devers is a model of not only statistical consistency, but mechanical consistency as well. He has been virtually the same player every season since coming up as a 20-year-old in 2017. Few hitters can say that, even the great ones. His signature wide, offset stance and aggressive swinging approach have never changed.
1 Comment