It's always hard to find any positives in what has turned out to be a disastrous season for the San Francisco Giants . Entering play on September 5, the club was 58-84, fourth in the National League West Division, and 26.5 games behind the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers .
Had the perennial last-place Colorado Rockies shown up to play at all in this final stretch of the season, the Giants would be cellar dwellers right now.
However, while they may be getting lapped by their rivals, the members of the front office and manager Tony Vitello have also gotten a look at several rookies.
In fact, the number is pretty staggering - 22, including 14 players making their MLB debuts. That hasn't always panned out, with a few young pitchers hitting the Injured List with season-ending injuries. And in terms of position players, the 2026 in-season call-ups have been hit ( Bryce Eldridge ) or miss ( Grant McCray ) in some instances.
One of the pleasant surprises of that group has been speedy center fielder Jonah Cox, who brings an elite glove and the ability to seemingly steal at will to the basepaths.
The 25-year-old has always had big-league athleticism, but his bat was a question mark. He's quieted those concerns in limited time this season, hitting .293, with our home runs and 10 RBI in just 75 at-bats.
He's also been a run-producer on the bases, swiping nine bags and scoring 16 runs despite spending much of 2026 shuttling back and forth between the Golden Gate City and Triple-A Sacramento.
Aside from his skills, Cox also brings a sense of humor and an eccentric nature to him. He chews a mouthpiece - much like Golden State Warriors' star Stephen Curry. He has some odd habits and is charismatic by nature, so he's lifted some spirits in the San Francisco clubhouse.
It's pretty clear that Cox, who played his college baseball at Oral Roberts University, has been better than advertised. But what will his eventual role be for the Giants gon forward?
With so much turnover coming up, is there a chance that the former sixth-roundpick could beat the odds and become an everyday player in the bigs?
The likely answer is no, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have value for San Francisco. As a CF, he can easily play the two corner outfield spots, and his speed makes him valuable as a pinch runner. His penchant for delivering in the clutch could make him a valuable, late-inning bat off the bench.
In the end, he projects as a fourth outfielder on a contending team, but one of 'those guys' that every successful team has. He can do a lot of things well, and those are the types of things the Giants will need as they travel down a road of rebuilding and redemption.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/giants/onsi as Giants Rookie Jonah Cox Is Making It Hard to Ignore Him Heading Into 2027 .
