The San Francisco Giants drafted Travis Ishikawa in the 21st round of the 2002 MLB draft out of Federal Way High School in Washington.
He made his MLB debut in 2006 and saw significant action for the first time during the 2009 season when he hit .261/.329/.387 with nine home runs and 39 RBI in 363 plate appearances as the team’s primary first baseman.
The following season he posted a 94 OPS+ with 14 extra-base hits in 173 plate appearances, then went 2-for-10 with one RBI and two runs scored coming off the bench during the postseason.