The San Francisco Giants should be in a worse spot than they are, seven games back in the National League West and in the crowded hunt for a wild card spot. The Giants have dealt with myriad injuries, particularly to the meat of their rotation, which has left them with 31 combined starts from Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, and Jeff Samardzija.

That the Giants are still on the fringes of the playoff picture is a testament to how surprisingly well their stand-ins have pitched -- particularly Dereck Rodriguez, who, despite being the son of Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, might be the fall's unlikeliest Rookie of the Year Award vote recipient.

Sure, Juan Soto's ascent was unexpected -- both in magnitude and timing -- but at least he entered the year as a well-regarded prospect. Rodriguez entered the year as a newcomer to the Giants system, having signed with the team as a minor-league free-agent after spending his first six-plus years as a professional with the Minnesota Twins organization. A converted outfielder, he'd yet to reach the Triple-A level. It seemed unlikely, then, that he would play any role in the Giants season -- let alone a role so big as to include a 2.34 ERA in 73 innings.

Rodriguez has been especially good since the All-Star break: he's recorded four quality starts in four tries, amassing 26 innings, allowing just 14 hits and four runs, and striking out 19 more than he's walked. He's given up one home run in his last 42 innings of work and has generated a double play far more often than the league-average clip despite not being an extreme groundball pitcher -- tidbits that speaks to good pitching and fortune alike. Perhaps it's no wonder that Rodriguez leads rookie starters in wins above replacement with 2.3, per Baseball-Reference.

Although Rodriguez is certain to give up more home runs (and runs in general) heading forward, there's reason to think the Giants have found a legitimate big-league starter.

Rodriguez is a good athlete who throws strikes with a deep arsenal featuring five pitches that he throws 10 percent or more of the time. His low-90s four-seam fastball (his velocity has dipped in recent starts) is the pitch he uses the most, and there's enough rise on it for him to elevate it late in counts. Additionally, he throws a sinker, a changeup, and two breaking balls -- with the curve being his most effective swing-and-miss offering, evading bats nearly a third of the time.

Add it all together, and Rodriguez should settle in as at least a back-end starter for the foreseeable future. That, combined with his production thus far, makes him one of the biggest value signings of last winter. It also makes him one of the top reasons why the Giants haven't fallen out of contention just yet, despite having faced sufficient obstacles along the way.