The San Francisco Giants are officially a dynasty in baseball. They have won 3 World Series in the past 5 years and have been a model of post season consistency. The thing that is most intriguing to me about this run they have had is that they have never looked like a championship team on paper in any of these seasons. Heading in to an odd numbered year, the Giants will attempt to become the first National League team to win 4 World Series in 6 years and the kept the team very similar to what they looked like last year.
Notable additions and subtractions this off-season
Additions
- Casey McGehee
- Nori Aoki
- Justin Maxwell
- Brett Jackson
- Nik Turley
- Curtis Partch
- Clay Rapada
- Cory Gearrin
- Braulio Lara
- Jackson Williams
- Carlos Triunfel
Subtractions
- Pablo Sandoval
- Michael Morse
- Kendry Flores
- Luis Castillo
- Michael Kickham
- Chris Dominguez
- Marco Scutaro
- Tyler Colvin
Biggest Weakness – Offense
This Giants team has been considered a mediocre offensive team throughout all the recent years when they have been successful, but they have found a way to win games regardless. Going into 2015, San Fran actually looks even worse than they normally do. There are 3 middle of the lineup bats they will be missing to start the year. Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse have both moved on to other teams, and Hunter Pence will miss the first month or so of the season with a broken forearm. This leaves just Buster Posey to intimidate pitchers in the middle of the lineup to start this season. They may need to take the on base/speed approach as they do have the addition of Nori Aoki to go along with Gregor Blanco, Joe Panik and Angel Pagan.
Biggest Strength – Winning Culture
This is a team that has made a habit of winning and have been managed by one of the best skippers in the game Bruce Bochy. Early it was mentioned that the Giants haven’t ever really looked like they would be that good on paper, but they find a way to prevail in the best way. Even though the roster looks below average, especially with Pence not playing, this optimist still feels nervous to project anything less than a winning season as these guys just find a way to get it done.
Something To Keep An Eye On – Back End Of The Rotation
There is only one guy who is a slam dunk to pitch a great season this year for the Giants and it’s Madison Bumgarner. The remainder of the rotation is filled with question marks. Someone San Francisco need to have a big year is Matt Cain. He looks like the guy most likely to have a good comeback year. After that you got Tim Hudson, Jake Peavy and Tim Lincecum. All of these guys appear to have their best years behind them and have a lot to prove. This writer is not saying that they can’t be effective this season, but the bet would be that they pitch below league average.
They also have guys like Yusmeiro Petit and Ryan Vogelsong to add to the depth, so they do have back up plans. With all of these veterans who will be pitching to re-prove themselves, and an offense that isn’t looking that impressive, the Giants might not be in a position to win. Not to mention that they don’t have a whole lot to be excited about in the farm system. Should be interesting to see what happens with the rotation in 2015.
Potential Lineup - * = Lefty, ^ = Switch hitter
- Angel Pagan – CF^
- Joe Panik – 2B*
- Buster Posey - C
- Brandon Belt – 1B*
- Casey McGehee – 3B
- Gregor Blanco – LF*
- Nori Aoki – RF*
- Brandon Crawford – SS*
Potential Bench
Andrew Susac
Travis Ishikawa*
Ehire Adrianza^
Joaquin Arias
Juan Perez
Potential Rotation - * = Lefty
Madison Bumgarner*
Tim Hudson
Matt Cain
Jake Peavy
Tim Lincecum
Potential Bullpen
Santiago Casilla
Jeremy Affelt*
Sergio Romo
Javier Lopez*
Jean Machi
Ryan Vogelsong
Yusmeiro Petit
Starting Season on DL
Hunter Pence
Fantasy Bargain – Nori Aoki
Now that Pence will be on the shelf for a while, there should be no problem for Aoki getting playing time. This is a guy who should always be hitting for a high average and he has the ability to steal bases as well. Not to mention the fact that he might actually have a chance to hit in an RBI position because of the lack of pop this team has. This isn’t a stud in fantasy by any means, but in a lot of leagues he is going unowned and that shouldn’t happened. Not a bad pickup super late in drafts when you are short an outfielder.
Overvalued Fantasy Player – Brandon Belt
Belt had a breakout year in 2014 even though he only played about one third of the season. He put up 12 homers and was on pace for by far his best season in the MLB to date. The thing with Belt is that he really has never shown that he is a consistent offensive producer at any level of professional baseball. He is also hitting in a lineup that looks very below average offensively and he won’t have any protection behind him. Not to mention he is hitting in one of the hardest parks to hit in for left handed hitters. Belt is a mediocre fantasy option at first base, a position you need to get real home run numbers out of. He should be on of those guys who is usually one of the top players available in free agents throughout the year.
Conclusion/Prediction
This dynasty might be on its way out with age catching up to the majority of the pitching staff. The loss of Hunter Pence might mean a very slow start to the season for the Giants as well. The thing with this prediction is that this writer has to go with how the numbers add up as he has with all of these team previews. With an offense that is below average, and a pitching staff below average, the Giants have a good chance of finishing below average this year. About 79 wins for San Fran in 2015 can be expected and that will be good for 3rd place in the NL West.
Tyler interviewed Erin O'Connor @Erinoconnor415 on the radio about the Giants. Hear what Erin had to say