Kurtenbach: Red-hot Luis Matos should be the SF Giants’ Opening Day right fielder. It’s a ridiculous that he won’t be

Luis Matos deserves to be the Giants’ Opening Day right fielder this season.

He, at the very least, deserves to make the Giants’ big-league roster to start the season.

But I don’t expect either of those things to happen by the time the Giants break camp in Arizona next week.

And if that prediction comes to pass, the Giants are making a mistake.

Matos, once the Giants’ No. 4 overall prospect, is ripping up the Cactus League. In his 31 at-bats going into Friday, he had nine runs, nine hits, seven RBI, three home runs, and was slashing .290/.371/.742.

Sure, it’s a small sample size, but those are big, big numbers. Lineup-changing numbers, even with an inevitable drop-off.

And it’s not luck that has Matos raking, it’s hard work behind the scenes. The shine might be off him as a prospect — he fell to No. 7 on MLB’s top Giants prospects list this year after making his big league debut and playing 76 games last season — but he’s become a true professional over the last two seasons and looks poised to make some noise as a big leaguer.

This is fun. This is exciting. He’s a testament to the Farhan Zaidi front office. This is exactly the kind of player the Giants need heading into 2024.

But instead of putting Matos on the 26-man Opening Day roster, I suspect the Giants will keep four outfielders: Michael Conforto in left, Jung Hoo Lee in center, and Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski platooning in the right field.

Both Slater and Yaz have struggled this spring. Yes, they’re coming off injuries, but Yaz is 1-for-11 going into Friday, and Slater is 0-for-7.

Even if they have a great final week in Arizona, that’s a lot of “meh.”

Slater will stay because of his glove, and the Giants will stay with Yaz because they’re paying him nearly $8 million, and his good months (amid his month-on, month-off schedule) are strong.

Still, Slater is a platoon-only bat whose strong glove is no longer needed in the center with Lee’s arrival.

And Yaz is no longer the player who received MVP votes in 2020. He’s going into his age-34 season and is a low-average hitter with a slightly above-average slugging percentage (.430) over the last three seasons. I doubt anyone will select him in your fantasy baseball league.

And Matos has beaten both players out in camp.

A fair competition? Perhaps not, given Slater’s and Yaz’s late starts.

But baseball has never been fair. Just look at the Dodgers’ lineup — being conservative isn’t going to beat that.

And for a team that clearly needs some bop in the lineup, I’m not too fond of the message that sending the best hitter in spring to Triple-A sends to the team.

In Matos, we have a guy who has done exactly what the Giants have asked of him the last two offseasons: He developed better plate discipline for 2023 and added serious muscle to help him turn warning-track fly balls into homers for 2024. And the team still won’t bet on him.

Matos has a ton of talent. That’s what got him to the big leagues last season.

But it’s the ability to adjust your game that keeps you in the big leagues. Matos is showing he can make adjustments. Yet he’s not going to be a big leaguer for a team that isn’t exactly pushing out Mike Trout and Ronald Acuña every day.

The notion that Matos needs more seasoning at Triple-A — and that will be what is pushed — is just a cover for the organization wanting to take the easy route, the conservative angle.

I’m sure that will sell some tickets.

All this amid what has not been a good spring for the Giants’ lineup.

Lee has been a fun pickup, sure, but the Giants failed with shortstop Marco Luciano this spring, the shine of the Matt Chapman signing was tarnished by the way J.D. Davis’ exit was handled, and fans are still peeved about Brandon Crawford leaving (please stop emailing me).

This team needs someone on the upswing.

This team needs someone who can surprise the fan base not locked into Cactus League baseball. (You know, normal people.)

This organization needs a homegrown position player win.

And Matos is that win. He’s a player who the Giants have developed into a viable and exciting everyday option — a kid with some serious pop.

Yet the Giants won’t take the win. They’ll wait for Slater or Yaz to fail before giving Matos a chance. Even if Matos rips up Triple-A for a month or two, will the shine still be on him when he gets the call? Now you’re asking Matos to clean up a mess — a very different scenario.

It’s strange. Luciano was given every opportunity to win the starting shortstop job. He failed miserably. He does, indeed, need more seasoning at Triple-A.

Why was Matos held to a different standard?

The Giants have shown no organizational disagreement in making bold moves for marginal upgrades. It might even be the front office’s mantra.

The Giants have an upgrade available in right field—all they have to do is jettison Slater or Yaz.

Yet I seriously doubt they take it. It’s all very strange. And in a season where competition is fierce—even for a wild card spot—this decision could loom large come September.