Jung Hoo Lee’s 2024 MLB season ended with an emphatic crash into the outfield wall and, as a result, shoulder surgery. Luckily for the Giants, his 2025 season has gone a bit differently and – while it’s had its ups and downs – Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey believes that is going to benefit Lee next season.

“I think this is going to be such a big year for Jung Hoo, just because you don’t really know what a major league season takes until you go through one,” Posey told KNBR 680’s “Murph & Markus” on Thursday. “Between the amount of games played in a row, the travel across the country, the physical toll, the mental toll.”

Lee’s April started as hot as it possibly could, with the 27-year-old slashing .324/.369/.539. However, his next couple months were polar opposites, with Lee putting up just a .143/.277/.274 slash line in June.

Posey believes the struggles – paired with his recent bounce back in July and August – is a positive sign for Lee and for San Francisco.

“Having to deal with the failure that comes from some or a lot of these variables and then to bounce back like he has,” Posey said. “To start off well and kind of slump a little bit and now, to me, he looks like he’s back to a spot at the plate where he’s hitting some balls on a line the other way, he’s spitting on balls when he needs to. I think, ultimately, we think that’s the type of player he’s going to be. A guy that has really good bat control, puts the ball in play, can be a pest at the plate.”

Lee’s 34.4 percent squared up rate, which is 95th percentile in the league, according to Baseball Savant, has proven that Lee has the ability to place balls where he wants.

Now, Posey says it’s on Lee to make the appropriate adjustments that he’s learned and come back better next season.

“Really, his first full year is something that I think he’s going to be able to learn from,” Posey added. “Take the information into the offseason and know how to prepare himself even better coming into next year.”

If Lee is able to improve on this season, he potentially could play a major role in the Giants making a push for the postseason in 2026.

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