Jung Hoo Lee’s 18-game hit streak has helped ignite SF Giants’ offense

In a different era, Jung Hoo Lee’s numbers would have the baseball world’s full attention.

Most notably, his batting average — a statistic that has lost some of its historic luster with the introduction of advanced metrics that can explain more thoroughly a player’s impact at the plate on his team’s run-scoring.

Nevertheless, through Wednesday Lee was batting .338 for the San Francisco Giants, the second-highest average in baseball behind Miami’s Otto Lopez. Lee’s MLB-leading 18-game hitting streak dating to May 14 — interrupted by an eight-game absence due to a back strain — against the Los Angeles Dodgers pushed that average from .265 at the streak’s start.

Lee is the first Giant since Angel Pagan in 2016 to keep a hitting streak alive at least 18 games; Pagan’s lasted 19. It’s a streak so impressive and timely that Lee could hit his way into All-Star consideration.

“I just notice Jung Hoo’s comfortability in his own skin,” manager Tony Vitello said.

That simple statistic is enough to explain Lee’s impact on the Giants offense, which leads the league in some evaluative stats since Lee’s hitting streak began last month. Over 26 games since May 14 the Giants lead with 133 weighted runs created-plus (where 100 wRC+ is the average), .839 OPS, .362 weighted on-base average and, yes, a .284 average. They’re scoring over 5.5 runs per game in that span, good for third in MLB. And their strikeout rate also dropped to 19.5%, albeit while carrying a league-low 6.8% walk rate.

In a lot of ways, the offense has been following Lee’s lead: They’re staying aggressive, generating plenty of contact and making it count. Few walks, few strikeouts, but lots of pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses, creating opportunities.

That’s Lee’s game, as the Giants banked on when they signed him for $113 million over six years out of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2024.

“I think the feel is there. I’ve been swinging aggressively on strikes,” Lee said with Giants translator Justin Han interpreting on Monday, after one of his four games with four or more hits during this streak. “The timing and balance are there at the same time. I’m getting good results out of what I’m doing right now.”

Lee has been an offensive engine, but other Giants are heating up alongside him. Matt Chapman had a four-hit, two-home run game in their unlikely comeback win on Wednesday, and over his past 26 games (since May 14), he ’s batting .319 with five home runs, nine doubles and 23 RBIs. Bryce Eldridge, Wednesday’s hero for his walk-off grand slam, is along for the ride, batting .397 with a 1.175 OPS in the 17 games he’s played since becoming a regular. 

Lee’s hot hitting is a driver for this team-wide offensive success. He and Luis Arraez — who has maintained a high batting average all season and sits fourth in baseball with a .327 average — are showing that a potent offense doesn’t have to depend on over-the-fence power alone.

Admittedly, Lee’s time in San Francisco has been erratic. A dislocated shoulder requiring season-ending surgery cut short his rookie year in 2024. His second year was consequently one of adjusting to MLB’s demanding workload and the more consistent quality of pitching in the majors compared to the KBO.

Lee spoke candidly about how his trouble adjusting led to an ultimately disappointing 2025 in which he batted .266 with a .327 on-base percentage, while also handling center field in one of the worst defensive outfields in baseball. But he’s made the adjustment and started coming into his own.

“I think the full season last year helped a lot,” Lee said. “Last year was really good and I feel that I’m still adjusting to the league right now.”

Within this 18-game hitting streak, Lee has nine multi-hit games while batting .500. He has three total strikeouts, while also contributing five doubles, a triple and a home run. And one walk, a couple of times hit by a pitch and three stolen bases.

Statcast estimates that Lee has some of the best contact tendencies in baseball. His 10% strikeout rate is in the 98th percentile and his 12.9% whiff rate in the 97th percentile. When he does swing, he’s squaring the ball up at a high rate of 37.5% (98th). His .319 expected batting average is in the 100th percentile.

The numbers document what’s happening in his at-bats. Pitchers who once flummoxed him, he’s seeing a lot better now. No moment best captured that than when he challenged and got overturned a strike call that was a ball — by less than a one-10th of an inch.

Lee is well aware of the zone, and now, having settled into life as a big-league regular — and potentially a star — it shows.