Joe Panik is the only young player in the Giants’ lineup, so let’s see if he improves

Joe Panik is just 27 years old. Theoretically, he should be just entering his prime. The only problem with that theory is that it’s possible that he has already left his prime.

Consider Panik’s All-Star season in 2015:

.312 BA
.378 OBP
.455 SLG

That came with stellar defense at second, too. Considering that he was just 24, it wasn’t implausible to hope that he’d improve. Maybe a few more doubles here, some extra walks there, and he’s something more than a nice player to have. He’s someone who’s crucial to his team’s blueprint.

After that season, though, he followed up with this:

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