Austin Slater

BIOGRAPHY

Austin Thomas Slater was born on December 13, 1992, in Jacksonville, Florida. He is an outfielder in the MLB.

Slater attended The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 44th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign and played college baseball at Stanford University. After his junior year, he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB Draft.

Slater attended The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 44th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign and played college baseball at Stanford University. After his junior year, he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB Draft.

Slater made his professional debut in 2014 with the Arizona League Giants and was promoted to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes after two games. In 31 games between both teams, he batted .346 with two home runs and 25 RBIs. He was moved from outfield to second base in 2015. He spent 2015 with the San Jose Giants and Richmond Flying Squirrels where he posted a .294 batting average with three home runs and 47 RBIs in 114 games between both teams. After the season, the Giants assigned him to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). Slater was moved back to the outfield in 2016 and started the year back with Richmond, and was later promoted to the Sacramento River Cats. In 109 games between both teams, he posted a combined .305 batting average with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs. Slater played for the Scorpions of the AFL after the regular season. He began 2017 with Sacramento.

On June 2, 2017, the Giants promoted Slater to the major leagues. He made his debut later that night, starting at right field against the Philadelphia Phillies. Slater recorded his first career hit and RBI in the sixth inning in the same game. He spent the remainder of the season with the Giants after his promotion, batting .282 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 34 games. He began 2018 with Sacramento.

Avoiding arbitration, Slater and the Giants agreed on a $1.15 million salary for the 2021 season. In the 2021 regular season, he batted .241/.320/.423 with 39 runs, 12 home runs, and 32 RBIs in 274 at-bats, and stole 15 bases in 17 attempts (his 88.24% success rate led the National League). As a pinch hitter, he led the major leagues with 13 RBIs and tied for the major league lead with four home runs. He primarily played center field, with stints in left field and right field (his perfect fielding percentage led all NL outfielders), and one game as a pitcher.

In 2022 he batted .264/.366/.408 in a career-high 277 at bats, with 49 runs, seven home runs, 34 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases on 13 attempts. He played 106 games in center field, 44 as a pinch hitter, 16 in left field, 14 in right field, 7 as a pinch runner, and two as a DH. He batted 10-for-30 as a pinch hitter, with 11 walks and three hit-by-pitch (.333/.546/.500). His 10 pinch hits were second in the major leagues, and his six pinch RBIs tied for fifth.

On January 13, 2023, Slater agreed to a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Giants, avoiding salary arbitration. In 89 games for San Francisco, he hit .270/.348/.400 with 5 home runs and 20 RBI. Following the season on October 11, Slater underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from the back of his right elbow.