Hey everyone. So I know I've written a lot of posts on baseball and the Giants and I've largely ignored football. For those of you who don't know, I have always been a 49ers fan. But when I moved to Denver I kind of stopped watching football. The short version is that because of local TV agreements, a team in a local market can't have another game being televised at the same time. That meant if the Broncos were playing an afternoon game on CBS, there was no game on Fox. So I didn't get to watch my team play unless they were playing a prime time game (Sunday night or Monday night). And really between 2003 and 2016 (the years I lived in Denver), they were really only good for 3 years (2011-2013). I'm still a fan though I am a baseball guy first. That said, I wanted to write a quick blog on some of the additions that the 49ers have made at the beginning of the 2019 league year.
So at first glance it looks like the 49ers are really wanting to improve their defense. From 2011-2014 the 49ers didn't finish below 5th in the league in yards allowed and coincidentally those were the most recent years that the team has finished .500 or above. The leaders of those defenses were unquestionably Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman at inside linebacker. The 49ers have the makings of a new pair of studs with 2nd year player Fred Warner, who finished 2018 with 85 tackles, and the newly acquired Kwon Alexander, who played in only 6 games with Tampa Bay in 2018 before suffering an ACL injury. Alexander has averaged 8.3 tackles per game over his 4 years in the league. The other big move at the linebacker position was a trade with Kansas City to acquire pass-rusher Dee Ford. Ford finished 2018 with 13 sacks which would have been the highest total by a 49ers player since Aldon Smith finished 2012 with 19.5. Pair this with the 12 sacks registered by DeForest Buckner in 2018 and the 49ers have the makings of a dominating front 7. The other significant move on the defensive side of the ball was signing cornerback Jason Verrett from the Los Angeles Chargers. Verrett missed all of 2018 with an Achilles tear and has a pretty extensive injury history, but he was a Pro Bowl player as recently as 2015 and 27 years old so there is still some upside if he can stay healthy. In 2015 Verrett finished with 3 interceptions and 12 passes defended.
Now we turn our attention to the offense and the 49ers signed a running back that head coach Kyle Shanahan is very familiar with from his time in Atlanta, Tevin Coleman. Coleman was the #2 back in Atlanta behind Devonta Freeman, but started 14 games in 2018 after Freeman was injured. Coleman rushed for 800 yards and added another 276 in receiving yards. Coleman has excellent receiving skills out of the backfield as does Jerick McKinnon who is returning from an ACL injury. Add Matt Breida to this list and the 49ers look to employ a 3-headed beast at the running back position in 2019.
These are some good signings, but it seems that the 49ers are ignoring a significant skill position and that is wide receiver. Think back to Shanahan's days in Atlanta and you have to look at Julio Jones who is a superstar at the position. The 49ers definitely don't have a Julio Jones on the roster and it really doesn't look like anyone fits that mold on the free agent market. Granted the 49ers still have tight end George Kittle who not only set the 49ers single season record for receptions by a tight end with 88 in 2018, but also set the NFL single season record for yards by a tight end with 1,377. The 49ers finished last in the league in 2018 in red zone touchdown percentage at only 41.18% and they will need to figure out how to improve that mark if they hope to compete in 2019.
But hold the phone!!!!! As I was writing this, the 49ers have signed wide receiver Jordan Matthews. Matthews' best year was 2015 with the Philadelphia Eagles where he put up 85 receptions, 997 yards and 8 touchdowns. His last 2 years have been less productive as he's had 300 yards or less in each, but he only started 10 out of 24 games during those 2 years. Matthews does his best work after the catch and fun fact, 22 of his 26 career touchdowns have come in the red zone.
So there you go everyone. A quick snapshot of the 49ers offseason, and baseball season is right around the corner so things are good. Here's hoping that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo can continue to build on the promise he showed in 2017 after missing the final 13 games of 2018 with a knee injury. As always, I invite comments, thoughts and opinions. Have a good day and thanks for reading.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
San Francisco Giants - Wish List for 2019
Well I promised you a part 2 and here we are. In my last blog I did a quick review of the 2018 San Francisco Giants season. Now I'll look ahead to 2019 and maybe we can see what the next season has in store for us. We left off the last blog with Farhan Zaidi being named the new President of Baseball Operations. Zaidi previously was the General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers being named to that position following the 2014 season. The Dodgers finished first in the National League West all 4 seasons under Zaidi, including getting to the World Series the last 2. Coincidentally, 2014 was the last year the Giants appeared in and won a World Series. From all articles, Zaidi is very well respected and regarded around baseball and is viewed as a very intelligent executive. Zaidi had a lot of success building the Dodgers with 2 of his success stories being mentioned very prominently in Chris Taylor and Max Muncy.
Taylor was a prospect with the Seattle Mariners making his Major League debut in 2014 and barely hit over .200 in parts of 3 seasons before being traded to the Dodgers in 2016. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, Taylor has been a regular starter playing 140 and 155 games the last 2 seasons and hitting a combined 38 home runs. During a time when versatility is valued, Taylor has appeared in center field, left field, second base, shortstop, and third base.
Muncy may have been an even bigger surprise. Spending the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Oakland A's, Muncy hit .195 with 5 home runs and 55 strikeouts over 215 at bats. He would sign with the Dodgers as a Minor League free agent at the beginning of the 2017 season and made his debut for the Dodgers on April 17, 2018. All he did was hit 35 home runs and finish 15th in the MVP vote. While his primary position is first base, he also showed his versatility appearing in games at third base, second base, and left field. These are the kind of player finds the Giants and the fans are hoping Zaidi can uncover.
But how many roster spots are available for Zaidi to fill? As far as free agents from the Giants, catcher Nick Hundley, outfielders Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco, and starting pitcher Derek Holland were all contributors to the 2018 team but do the Giants want to re-sign any of them? (Blanco has signed a Minor League deal with the New York Mets) Second baseman Joe Panik and relief pitcher Sam Dyson re-signed with the team and relief pitcher Will Smith was tendered a contract though he did not sign. Relief pitcher Hunter Strickland and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez were non-tendered. Other players who spent time with the big club include infielders Kelby Tomlinson who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase d'Arnaud who signed with the Texas Rangers, and starting pitcher Casey Kelly will continue his professional career in South Korea.
For their shopping list, the Giants are expected to sign 2 outfielders, preferably corner guys considering Steven Duggar is still viewed as the starting center fielder, and 2 starting pitchers. So far the Giants signed outfielder Mike Gerber who has all of 47 Major League plate appearances and has struck out in 21 of those, acquired outfielder Drew Ferguson and relief pitcher Travis Bergen, both of whom have zero Major League experience, in the Rule 5 draft, signed catcher Cameron Rupp and relief pitcher Pat Venditte. None of these moves are that exciting. Rupp has had some success in the Major Leagues hitting 39 home runs in the last 3 years with the Philadelphia Phillies and Venditte had a 2.57 ERA in 15 games with the Dodgers last season. Venditte also can pitch with either hand so he offers some flexibility in the bullpen.
So now let's get to the rumors. With the Giants probably still looking for help in the outfield, several names have been floated. Michael Brantley had a renaissance year in 2018 for the Cleveland Indians following 2 injury plagued seasons. He finished 3rd in the MVP race in 2014 but will turn 32 early in the 2019 season. Unfortunately Brantley signed a 2-year deal with the Houston Astros last week. Marwin Gonzalez is another name being floated, and he can offer the kind of versatility that Zaidi may be looking for. Gonzalez appeared in games in 2018 at every position except pitcher and catcher. Avisail Garcia was non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox following a down year in 2018, but has the kind of power that Giants fans have been longing for since Barry Bonds "retired" following the 2007 season. Nick Castellanos of the Detroit Tigers has been a name that has floated around the Giants for a few seasons, but he would only be available in a trade and right now I don't think the Giants have the kind of trade capital that would intrigue the Tigers to make a deal.
As for starting pitchers, the water is much murkier here. The only name I've heard that the Giants were interested in was Nathan Eovaldi and he re-signed with the Boston Red Sox. More recently the rumors that the Giants would be interested in Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi have been heating up. Beyond those 2 names the Giants have not really been linked to any other starting pitchers that I've heard. I think the safe move would be to re-sign Holland if the price is right, which would have the Giants going into 2019 with a likely rotation of Madison Bumgarner, Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez, Jeff Samardzija, and Chris Stratton and Derek Holland vying for the #5 slot.
There was some talk during the Winter Meetings that the Chicago White Sox were possibly interested in a trade for Brandon Belt, but the White Sox then traded for Yonder Alonso on December 15 so that interest has likely been squashed. There was also talk that the St. Louis Cardinals were interested in Will Smith or Tony Watson, but the Cardinals then signed Andrew Miller on December 21 so they got their left-handed reliever. There is now a rumor that has gone through a couple of versions and that is the Giants are interested in acquiring Jason Heyward from the Chicago Cubs for a package of Mark Melancon and either Jeff Samardzija or Will Smith. Heyward has played right field primarily in his career but the Giants are eyeing him for potentially patrolling center field, which would tend to suggest that maybe Zaidi isn't as high on Steven Duggar as some others in the organization were.
The last rumor out there is that the Giants have interest in signing Troy Tulowitzki who was released by the Toronto Blue Jays after missing the 2018 season. I do want to talk about this one for a minute. Considering he missed all of 2018 and that he's 34, this seems like a risky signing. But here's the thing. The Toronto Blue Jays are still on the hook for the remaining $38 million owed to Tulo and whatever team signs him would only be paying him the Major League minimum. This is exactly the same scenario as the Giants signing Pablo Sandoval. Now Tulo has been a shortstop his entire career so the Giants don't seem an immediate fit considering they have Brandon Crawford entrenched there through the 2021 season. But, if Tulo was willing to be a right-handed platoon to Joe Panik at second base and spell Crawford occasionally, this could be a good fit. It would also be a homecoming of sorts considering Tulo is from Santa Clara. I can't be the only Giants fan who remembers Tulo crushing the ball while he was with the Rockies and let's not forget that he hit 24 home runs as recently as 2016.
So that's where we find ourselves today. It's been a slow offseason for Farhan Zaidi and the Giants. I don't know how I feel about that. I didn't expect any big flashy moves, a la Bryce Harper, but I guess I had hoped that we'd have a clearer picture whether the Giants would be rebuilding for the future or reloading for a potential playoff run in 2019. I know about as much today as I did after the Giants recorded their final out of 2018. The Madison Bumgarner trade rumors will continue with the New York Yankees seeming to be the most likely landing spot, but personally I don't think the Giants are going to trade him until the trade deadline if at all. I do have hope for the future of my team, but so far I have not been inspired by anything they have done. Let's remember that the Giants traded for Evan Longoria on December 20, 2017 and Andrew McCutchen on January 15, 2018, so it's possible that moves are coming. That's all for now. Thanks for reading.
Taylor was a prospect with the Seattle Mariners making his Major League debut in 2014 and barely hit over .200 in parts of 3 seasons before being traded to the Dodgers in 2016. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, Taylor has been a regular starter playing 140 and 155 games the last 2 seasons and hitting a combined 38 home runs. During a time when versatility is valued, Taylor has appeared in center field, left field, second base, shortstop, and third base.
Muncy may have been an even bigger surprise. Spending the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Oakland A's, Muncy hit .195 with 5 home runs and 55 strikeouts over 215 at bats. He would sign with the Dodgers as a Minor League free agent at the beginning of the 2017 season and made his debut for the Dodgers on April 17, 2018. All he did was hit 35 home runs and finish 15th in the MVP vote. While his primary position is first base, he also showed his versatility appearing in games at third base, second base, and left field. These are the kind of player finds the Giants and the fans are hoping Zaidi can uncover.
But how many roster spots are available for Zaidi to fill? As far as free agents from the Giants, catcher Nick Hundley, outfielders Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco, and starting pitcher Derek Holland were all contributors to the 2018 team but do the Giants want to re-sign any of them? (Blanco has signed a Minor League deal with the New York Mets) Second baseman Joe Panik and relief pitcher Sam Dyson re-signed with the team and relief pitcher Will Smith was tendered a contract though he did not sign. Relief pitcher Hunter Strickland and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez were non-tendered. Other players who spent time with the big club include infielders Kelby Tomlinson who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase d'Arnaud who signed with the Texas Rangers, and starting pitcher Casey Kelly will continue his professional career in South Korea.
For their shopping list, the Giants are expected to sign 2 outfielders, preferably corner guys considering Steven Duggar is still viewed as the starting center fielder, and 2 starting pitchers. So far the Giants signed outfielder Mike Gerber who has all of 47 Major League plate appearances and has struck out in 21 of those, acquired outfielder Drew Ferguson and relief pitcher Travis Bergen, both of whom have zero Major League experience, in the Rule 5 draft, signed catcher Cameron Rupp and relief pitcher Pat Venditte. None of these moves are that exciting. Rupp has had some success in the Major Leagues hitting 39 home runs in the last 3 years with the Philadelphia Phillies and Venditte had a 2.57 ERA in 15 games with the Dodgers last season. Venditte also can pitch with either hand so he offers some flexibility in the bullpen.
So now let's get to the rumors. With the Giants probably still looking for help in the outfield, several names have been floated. Michael Brantley had a renaissance year in 2018 for the Cleveland Indians following 2 injury plagued seasons. He finished 3rd in the MVP race in 2014 but will turn 32 early in the 2019 season. Unfortunately Brantley signed a 2-year deal with the Houston Astros last week. Marwin Gonzalez is another name being floated, and he can offer the kind of versatility that Zaidi may be looking for. Gonzalez appeared in games in 2018 at every position except pitcher and catcher. Avisail Garcia was non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox following a down year in 2018, but has the kind of power that Giants fans have been longing for since Barry Bonds "retired" following the 2007 season. Nick Castellanos of the Detroit Tigers has been a name that has floated around the Giants for a few seasons, but he would only be available in a trade and right now I don't think the Giants have the kind of trade capital that would intrigue the Tigers to make a deal.
As for starting pitchers, the water is much murkier here. The only name I've heard that the Giants were interested in was Nathan Eovaldi and he re-signed with the Boston Red Sox. More recently the rumors that the Giants would be interested in Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi have been heating up. Beyond those 2 names the Giants have not really been linked to any other starting pitchers that I've heard. I think the safe move would be to re-sign Holland if the price is right, which would have the Giants going into 2019 with a likely rotation of Madison Bumgarner, Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez, Jeff Samardzija, and Chris Stratton and Derek Holland vying for the #5 slot.
There was some talk during the Winter Meetings that the Chicago White Sox were possibly interested in a trade for Brandon Belt, but the White Sox then traded for Yonder Alonso on December 15 so that interest has likely been squashed. There was also talk that the St. Louis Cardinals were interested in Will Smith or Tony Watson, but the Cardinals then signed Andrew Miller on December 21 so they got their left-handed reliever. There is now a rumor that has gone through a couple of versions and that is the Giants are interested in acquiring Jason Heyward from the Chicago Cubs for a package of Mark Melancon and either Jeff Samardzija or Will Smith. Heyward has played right field primarily in his career but the Giants are eyeing him for potentially patrolling center field, which would tend to suggest that maybe Zaidi isn't as high on Steven Duggar as some others in the organization were.
The last rumor out there is that the Giants have interest in signing Troy Tulowitzki who was released by the Toronto Blue Jays after missing the 2018 season. I do want to talk about this one for a minute. Considering he missed all of 2018 and that he's 34, this seems like a risky signing. But here's the thing. The Toronto Blue Jays are still on the hook for the remaining $38 million owed to Tulo and whatever team signs him would only be paying him the Major League minimum. This is exactly the same scenario as the Giants signing Pablo Sandoval. Now Tulo has been a shortstop his entire career so the Giants don't seem an immediate fit considering they have Brandon Crawford entrenched there through the 2021 season. But, if Tulo was willing to be a right-handed platoon to Joe Panik at second base and spell Crawford occasionally, this could be a good fit. It would also be a homecoming of sorts considering Tulo is from Santa Clara. I can't be the only Giants fan who remembers Tulo crushing the ball while he was with the Rockies and let's not forget that he hit 24 home runs as recently as 2016.
So that's where we find ourselves today. It's been a slow offseason for Farhan Zaidi and the Giants. I don't know how I feel about that. I didn't expect any big flashy moves, a la Bryce Harper, but I guess I had hoped that we'd have a clearer picture whether the Giants would be rebuilding for the future or reloading for a potential playoff run in 2019. I know about as much today as I did after the Giants recorded their final out of 2018. The Madison Bumgarner trade rumors will continue with the New York Yankees seeming to be the most likely landing spot, but personally I don't think the Giants are going to trade him until the trade deadline if at all. I do have hope for the future of my team, but so far I have not been inspired by anything they have done. Let's remember that the Giants traded for Evan Longoria on December 20, 2017 and Andrew McCutchen on January 15, 2018, so it's possible that moves are coming. That's all for now. Thanks for reading.
Friday, December 21, 2018
San Francisco Giants - Year in Review
Well everyone, another San Francisco Giants season comes to an end and like last year it ends with no trip to the postseason. But the Giants finished with a better record than in 2017 and we had a chance to see some of the kids make the trip from Sacramento. The Giants will have the #10 pick in the 2019 amateur draft. To put that position into some perspective, let's look at some of the names that the Giants have drafted in the 1st round and the overall pick #:
2002 - Matt Cain (#22)
2006 - Tim Lincecum (#10)
2007 - Madison Bumgarner (#10)
2008 - Buster Posey (#5)
2009 - Zack Wheeler (#6)
2011 - Joe Panik (#29)
2012 - Chris Stratton (#20)
2013 - Christian Arroyo (#25)
2014 - Tyler Beede (#14)
2015 - Phil Bickford (#18)
2015 - Chris Shaw (#31)
2017 - Heliot Ramos (#19)
2018 - Joey Bart (#2)
Now some of these players were traded like Wheeler, Arroyo, and Bickford, but you can see that the Giants have had a pretty good track record over the last 2 decades or so. Obviously in this range it would be nice to find a player like a Lincecum or Bumgarner. One early mock draft has the Giants taking Corbin Carroll, an outfielder from Lakeside High School in Seattle, WA. But we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. Let's take a look t the year that was.
I think the first thing we need to look at is the injuries that the Giants have endured. The Giants placed 6 players on the season-ending disabled list, including Buster Posey who underwent hip surgery on August 27 and Brandon belt who underwent knee surgery on September 21. In addition, the list also includes Pablo Sandoval, Ryder Jones, Steven Duggar, and Johnny Cueto. Jeff Samardzija was never placed on the season-ending DL, but did not pitch after July 14. Also missing good chunks of the year were Madison Bumgarner and Evan Longoria. While every team deals with injuries throughout the year, I think it's safe to say that few teams suffered this many injuries to key players. Also, for a team that was toeing so close to the competitive balance tax line, they didn't have the luxury of signing more high-priced talent after other players were lost to injury (see the Dodgers trading for Manny Machado after Corey Seager underwent Tommy John surgery).
Once the last out was recorded in the World Series (congratulations to the Boston Red Sox) the clock started on the offseason and for the first time since Brian Sabean was promoted to General Manager in 1996 the Giants will have a new GM. Before you jump in and say, well Bobby Evans was the GM from 2015 to 2018, Sabean was the Executive VP of Baseball Operations so while he may not have been GM by title the last 3 years he was still heavily involved in the decision making process. On November 6 we kind of found out who that would be. Farhan Zaidi was hired as the Head of Baseball Operations. This does not make him officially the GM, though he was the GM for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2015-2018 and was the Director of Baseball Operations for the Oakland A's in 2013 and 2014 also adding the title of Assistant GM in 2014. While we're still waiting to see if Zaidi will hire an "official" GM, he has made 2 hires to the scouting department bringing in Zack Minasian, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers, as the new Director of Pro Scouting, and Michael Holmes, formerly of the Oakland A's, as the new Director of Amateur Scouting.
As Giants fans, we finally got to see Zaidi in action during the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas held December 9-13, and honestly the results were a little underwhelming. I'll leave this blog now so as not to write a huge post and my next one (coming soon) will pick up at the Winter Meetings and we'll chat about the moves the Giants have already made and some of the ones that are rumored/possible. Until next time folks, thanks for reading.
2002 - Matt Cain (#22)
2006 - Tim Lincecum (#10)
2007 - Madison Bumgarner (#10)
2008 - Buster Posey (#5)
2009 - Zack Wheeler (#6)
2011 - Joe Panik (#29)
2012 - Chris Stratton (#20)
2013 - Christian Arroyo (#25)
2014 - Tyler Beede (#14)
2015 - Phil Bickford (#18)
2015 - Chris Shaw (#31)
2017 - Heliot Ramos (#19)
2018 - Joey Bart (#2)
Now some of these players were traded like Wheeler, Arroyo, and Bickford, but you can see that the Giants have had a pretty good track record over the last 2 decades or so. Obviously in this range it would be nice to find a player like a Lincecum or Bumgarner. One early mock draft has the Giants taking Corbin Carroll, an outfielder from Lakeside High School in Seattle, WA. But we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. Let's take a look t the year that was.
I think the first thing we need to look at is the injuries that the Giants have endured. The Giants placed 6 players on the season-ending disabled list, including Buster Posey who underwent hip surgery on August 27 and Brandon belt who underwent knee surgery on September 21. In addition, the list also includes Pablo Sandoval, Ryder Jones, Steven Duggar, and Johnny Cueto. Jeff Samardzija was never placed on the season-ending DL, but did not pitch after July 14. Also missing good chunks of the year were Madison Bumgarner and Evan Longoria. While every team deals with injuries throughout the year, I think it's safe to say that few teams suffered this many injuries to key players. Also, for a team that was toeing so close to the competitive balance tax line, they didn't have the luxury of signing more high-priced talent after other players were lost to injury (see the Dodgers trading for Manny Machado after Corey Seager underwent Tommy John surgery).
Once the last out was recorded in the World Series (congratulations to the Boston Red Sox) the clock started on the offseason and for the first time since Brian Sabean was promoted to General Manager in 1996 the Giants will have a new GM. Before you jump in and say, well Bobby Evans was the GM from 2015 to 2018, Sabean was the Executive VP of Baseball Operations so while he may not have been GM by title the last 3 years he was still heavily involved in the decision making process. On November 6 we kind of found out who that would be. Farhan Zaidi was hired as the Head of Baseball Operations. This does not make him officially the GM, though he was the GM for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2015-2018 and was the Director of Baseball Operations for the Oakland A's in 2013 and 2014 also adding the title of Assistant GM in 2014. While we're still waiting to see if Zaidi will hire an "official" GM, he has made 2 hires to the scouting department bringing in Zack Minasian, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers, as the new Director of Pro Scouting, and Michael Holmes, formerly of the Oakland A's, as the new Director of Amateur Scouting.
As Giants fans, we finally got to see Zaidi in action during the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas held December 9-13, and honestly the results were a little underwhelming. I'll leave this blog now so as not to write a huge post and my next one (coming soon) will pick up at the Winter Meetings and we'll chat about the moves the Giants have already made and some of the ones that are rumored/possible. Until next time folks, thanks for reading.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Giants going with youngsters??? Can it be?
Hello world. Well it's been about 3 1/2 months since my last blog post and we were talking about the Opening Day roster for the San Francisco Giants. Some things have changed since then. We've already had a trade, Austin Jackson and Cory Gearrin to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash considerations. This should give the Giants both some salary and roster flexibility before the 7/31 trade deadline and help them stay under the $197 million competitive balance tax limit. Now I for one thought that the Austin Jackson signing was going to be a great move, but he did absolutely nothing to justify my optimism and by the time he was traded he was pretty much the last guy on the depth chart. Similar for Gearrin, though after seeing him pitch frequently last year I sorry to say I am not sad to see him go. This meant the Giants had 2 roster spots to fill and they filled them with Steven Duggar and Ray Black.
If Duggar's name sounds familiar, yes we have talked about him before. Duggar is the assumed Center Fielder of the future if the Giants front office is to be trusted and his Spring Training results did not disappoint. Still, he was optioned to Sacramento so he could play everyday whereas in San Francisco he would have been platooning with Austin Jackson and/or Gorkys Hernandez. But now it's time to see what the kid can do. We're only 4 games into his tenure and it's possible he could ride the shuttle back and forth between Sacramento and San Francisco a few times, but he's looked exciting during the first week. He did seem to get off to kind of a slow start, but he's looked increasingly comfortable in Center Field and in the leadoff spot in the lineup. In yesterday's game against the Oakland A's, Duggar went 2 for 4 with a walk, scored 3 runs, and had 2 RBI on a double in the 7th inning. Duggar's batting average sits at .286, but we're only talking about 21 at bats so far. If there's one area that is glaring, it's that Duggar has struck out 9 times (43%) in those 21 at bats and only walked once.
Ray Black is that rare bullpen arm that can hit triple digits on the radar gun. He's hit as high as 104 mph. But Black has a lengthy injury history. While still in high school he had Tommy John surgery. In college he tore a meniscus and fractured his hand. As a professional, he's had labrum surgery in 2012, a strained lat and a bicep injury in 2015, and a bone spur in 2016 which led him to consider retiring. Beyond the injuries his walk totals were always high, though one could argue the injuries played a factor into that (injuries led to bad mechanics which led to high walk totals). But since returning to Sacramento, Black has put up a walk rate of 3 walks per 9 innings pitched while his strikeout rate is 15 per 9 innings pitched. He also has a slider which he throws 88-91 mph and a curve which he throws in the low 80's. So far he's only pitched in 2 games. The first didn't go so great recording only 1 out and walking 2 on 7/8 against St. Louis. The only hit he allowed? A 3-run homer to Matt Carpenter. The second game, 7/10 against the Chicago Cubs, was much better. He pitched the 9th inning of a 2-0 game (the Cubs were winning), completing the inning and striking out 2 in the process. His ERA is a not pretty 20.25 but there's a ton of potential.
We've seen some other young guys contribute in big ways with Andrew Suarez and Dereck Rodriguez coming up big in the starting rotation and Alen Hanson playing a big role filling in for the injured Joe Panik, but we're not going to cover them here. Instead I want to talk about a guy who has been ping-ponged back and forth between Sacramento and San Francisco a few times this season and that is Austin Slater. Slater has played primarily Left Field in San Francisco, though if Chris Shaw makes enough noise to be promoted to the big club, Slater's long-term position is likely Right Field. Slater collected 117 at-bats last year and hit .282 with a .339 OBP and .402 Slugging Percentage. This year, in 38 at-bats, his average and Slugging Percentage are both down (.263 and .316) but his OBP is way up (.396). He's taken as many walks as he did all of last year, but he's striking out a bit more (34% in 2018 vs. 25% in 2017). With Gorkys Hernandez having a career year, Slater's opportunities have been limited. He had a 3-hit game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on 6/29 and his reward was sitting out the next game. In fact, Slater has not appeared in a game since 7/11. Bruce Bochy has shown more confidence in Hunter Pence in pinch-hitting situations even though Pence is hitting .216 on the season. Obviously I am not in the clubhouse and I do not know what discussions are going on, but I would like to see what a lineup with both Duggar and Slater would look like over an extended period.
That's it for today guys. Thanks for reading and comment below.
If Duggar's name sounds familiar, yes we have talked about him before. Duggar is the assumed Center Fielder of the future if the Giants front office is to be trusted and his Spring Training results did not disappoint. Still, he was optioned to Sacramento so he could play everyday whereas in San Francisco he would have been platooning with Austin Jackson and/or Gorkys Hernandez. But now it's time to see what the kid can do. We're only 4 games into his tenure and it's possible he could ride the shuttle back and forth between Sacramento and San Francisco a few times, but he's looked exciting during the first week. He did seem to get off to kind of a slow start, but he's looked increasingly comfortable in Center Field and in the leadoff spot in the lineup. In yesterday's game against the Oakland A's, Duggar went 2 for 4 with a walk, scored 3 runs, and had 2 RBI on a double in the 7th inning. Duggar's batting average sits at .286, but we're only talking about 21 at bats so far. If there's one area that is glaring, it's that Duggar has struck out 9 times (43%) in those 21 at bats and only walked once.
Ray Black is that rare bullpen arm that can hit triple digits on the radar gun. He's hit as high as 104 mph. But Black has a lengthy injury history. While still in high school he had Tommy John surgery. In college he tore a meniscus and fractured his hand. As a professional, he's had labrum surgery in 2012, a strained lat and a bicep injury in 2015, and a bone spur in 2016 which led him to consider retiring. Beyond the injuries his walk totals were always high, though one could argue the injuries played a factor into that (injuries led to bad mechanics which led to high walk totals). But since returning to Sacramento, Black has put up a walk rate of 3 walks per 9 innings pitched while his strikeout rate is 15 per 9 innings pitched. He also has a slider which he throws 88-91 mph and a curve which he throws in the low 80's. So far he's only pitched in 2 games. The first didn't go so great recording only 1 out and walking 2 on 7/8 against St. Louis. The only hit he allowed? A 3-run homer to Matt Carpenter. The second game, 7/10 against the Chicago Cubs, was much better. He pitched the 9th inning of a 2-0 game (the Cubs were winning), completing the inning and striking out 2 in the process. His ERA is a not pretty 20.25 but there's a ton of potential.
We've seen some other young guys contribute in big ways with Andrew Suarez and Dereck Rodriguez coming up big in the starting rotation and Alen Hanson playing a big role filling in for the injured Joe Panik, but we're not going to cover them here. Instead I want to talk about a guy who has been ping-ponged back and forth between Sacramento and San Francisco a few times this season and that is Austin Slater. Slater has played primarily Left Field in San Francisco, though if Chris Shaw makes enough noise to be promoted to the big club, Slater's long-term position is likely Right Field. Slater collected 117 at-bats last year and hit .282 with a .339 OBP and .402 Slugging Percentage. This year, in 38 at-bats, his average and Slugging Percentage are both down (.263 and .316) but his OBP is way up (.396). He's taken as many walks as he did all of last year, but he's striking out a bit more (34% in 2018 vs. 25% in 2017). With Gorkys Hernandez having a career year, Slater's opportunities have been limited. He had a 3-hit game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on 6/29 and his reward was sitting out the next game. In fact, Slater has not appeared in a game since 7/11. Bruce Bochy has shown more confidence in Hunter Pence in pinch-hitting situations even though Pence is hitting .216 on the season. Obviously I am not in the clubhouse and I do not know what discussions are going on, but I would like to see what a lineup with both Duggar and Slater would look like over an extended period.
That's it for today guys. Thanks for reading and comment below.
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Giants final 2018 roster....a few days late
Well everyone, we can officially welcome the 2018 Major League Baseball season....two days ago. The Giants pulled off a couple of 1-0 victories over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. But we're not here to talk about that just yet. Instead we're going to look at the Opening Day roster and the final cuts.
The last week of Spring Training had some extremely bad news. On March 22, #3 starter Jeff Samardzija was diagnosed with a strained pectoral muscle and will begin the season on the Disabled List. Manager Bruce Bochy expects him to be back in 3-4 weeks. This could have been a lot worse considering Samardzija had been receiving an MRI on his shoulder.
Now for the worse news. On March 23, #1 starter Madison Bumgarner was hit by a line-drive which fractured his left hand. For those of you keeping score, that's his pitching hand. Bumgarner underwent surgery on March 24 and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
On top of this, closer Mark Melancon was placed on the Disabled List as he is still recovering from forearm surgery he underwent in September, 2017.
So what did all this mean for the roster? Well with the injuries to the pitching staff, it was all but assured that Derek Holland was going to make the team. But to make room for him on the 40-man roster someone was going to have to be designated for assignment. That someone was outfielder Jarrett Parker. So the competition for the 2 reserve outfielder spots came down to Gorkys Hernandez, Gregor Blanco, and Steven Duggar. Blanco and Hernandez won the jobs with Duggar being sent to Sacramento. This shouldn't come as a surprise despite Duggar's great Spring. The thinking here is that Duggar will be playing every day in Triple-A and Austin Jackson was going to receive a majority of the starts in center field at least in the early part of the season as the Giants will be facing a number of left-handed starting pitchers. Their first 2 games were against Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood, both lefties, and will be facing Rich Hill, another lefty, on Sunday.
With Samardzija and Bumgarner being placed on the DL, Roberto Gomez and Pierce Johnson will take their roster spots. And Reyes Moronta will take Melancon's spot. The other roster battles were pretty uneventful. Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson are the backup infielders as was expected. One other note, Rule 5 draft pick Julian Fernandez was placed on the 60-day DL with a strained UCL in his pitching elbow. Technically an injured player uses an active roster spot so the Giants don't have to offer him back to the Rockies though Fernandez may be looking at Tommy John surgery. The move to the 60-day DL allowed the Giants to add Blanco to the 40-man roster. So here's what the roster looks like to start the 2018 season:
Lineup
1. CF - Austin Jackson
2. 2B - Joe Panik
3. RF - Andrew McCutchen
4. C - Buster Posey
5. 3B - Evan Longoria
6. LF - Hunter Pence
7. 1B - Brandon Belt
8. SS - Brandon Crawford
Bench
C - Nick Hundley
IF - Pablo Sandoval
IF - Kelby Tomlinson
OF - Gregor Blanco
OF - Gorkys Hernandez
Rotation
1. LHP - Ty Blach
2. RHP - Johnny Cueto
3. LHP - Derek Holland
4. RHP - Chris Stratton
Bullpen
RHP - Sam Dyson
RHP - Cory Gearrin
RHP - Roberto Gomez
RHP - Pierce Johnson
RHP - Reyes Moronta
LHP - Josh Osich
RHP - Hunter Strickland (Closer)
LHP - Tony Watson
There you have it. Your 2018 San Francisco Giants. Play ball!!!!
The last week of Spring Training had some extremely bad news. On March 22, #3 starter Jeff Samardzija was diagnosed with a strained pectoral muscle and will begin the season on the Disabled List. Manager Bruce Bochy expects him to be back in 3-4 weeks. This could have been a lot worse considering Samardzija had been receiving an MRI on his shoulder.
Now for the worse news. On March 23, #1 starter Madison Bumgarner was hit by a line-drive which fractured his left hand. For those of you keeping score, that's his pitching hand. Bumgarner underwent surgery on March 24 and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
On top of this, closer Mark Melancon was placed on the Disabled List as he is still recovering from forearm surgery he underwent in September, 2017.
So what did all this mean for the roster? Well with the injuries to the pitching staff, it was all but assured that Derek Holland was going to make the team. But to make room for him on the 40-man roster someone was going to have to be designated for assignment. That someone was outfielder Jarrett Parker. So the competition for the 2 reserve outfielder spots came down to Gorkys Hernandez, Gregor Blanco, and Steven Duggar. Blanco and Hernandez won the jobs with Duggar being sent to Sacramento. This shouldn't come as a surprise despite Duggar's great Spring. The thinking here is that Duggar will be playing every day in Triple-A and Austin Jackson was going to receive a majority of the starts in center field at least in the early part of the season as the Giants will be facing a number of left-handed starting pitchers. Their first 2 games were against Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood, both lefties, and will be facing Rich Hill, another lefty, on Sunday.
With Samardzija and Bumgarner being placed on the DL, Roberto Gomez and Pierce Johnson will take their roster spots. And Reyes Moronta will take Melancon's spot. The other roster battles were pretty uneventful. Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson are the backup infielders as was expected. One other note, Rule 5 draft pick Julian Fernandez was placed on the 60-day DL with a strained UCL in his pitching elbow. Technically an injured player uses an active roster spot so the Giants don't have to offer him back to the Rockies though Fernandez may be looking at Tommy John surgery. The move to the 60-day DL allowed the Giants to add Blanco to the 40-man roster. So here's what the roster looks like to start the 2018 season:
Lineup
1. CF - Austin Jackson
2. 2B - Joe Panik
3. RF - Andrew McCutchen
4. C - Buster Posey
5. 3B - Evan Longoria
6. LF - Hunter Pence
7. 1B - Brandon Belt
8. SS - Brandon Crawford
Bench
C - Nick Hundley
IF - Pablo Sandoval
IF - Kelby Tomlinson
OF - Gregor Blanco
OF - Gorkys Hernandez
Rotation
1. LHP - Ty Blach
2. RHP - Johnny Cueto
3. LHP - Derek Holland
4. RHP - Chris Stratton
Bullpen
RHP - Sam Dyson
RHP - Cory Gearrin
RHP - Roberto Gomez
RHP - Pierce Johnson
RHP - Reyes Moronta
LHP - Josh Osich
RHP - Hunter Strickland (Closer)
LHP - Tony Watson
There you have it. Your 2018 San Francisco Giants. Play ball!!!!
Monday, March 19, 2018
Giants roster cuts, round 2
Today the Giants optioned or reassigned 15 more players cutting their roster down to 31 (Ryder Jones was optioned to Triple-A, Sacramento on Saturday). No huge surprises here, though there were some notable names that won't be on the Opening Day roster. This is going to be more of a quick recap of the cuts since I did a slightly more comprehensive write-up last week. So here's a list of players who were cut:
Pitchers
Tyler Beede
Roberto Gomez
Joan Gregorio
Derek Law
Andrew Suarez
Jose Valdez
Catchers
Trevor Brown
Justin O'Conner
Hector Sanchez
Infielders
Orlando Calixte
Chase d'Arnaud
Kyle Jensen
Outfielders
Chris Shaw
Austin Slater
Mac Williamson
The fact that Beede and Suarez were part of the cuts doesn't come as a major surprise. Both were competing for the final 2 rotation spots, but both have been outpitched by Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, and Derek Holland. Calixte and d'Arnaud being cut also isn't that surprising. Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson are the front runners to be backup infielders for Opening Day, but pay attention to Josh Rutledge who is still in camp. He's pushing Tomlinson, but Tomlinson currently has the trump card of being on the 40-man roster.
Of the outfielders, Williamson is the most surprising name. He has outplayed Jarrett Parker so one has to think this decision was made for one of two reasons. The baseball reason is that Williamson completely retooled his swing during the offseason and the Giants would rather have him playing every day in Sacramento to make sure his offensive production is for real than having him on the bench in San Francisco and playing maybe a couple times a week. The business reason is that Williamson still has a Minor League option left where Parker does not.
One guy I completely forgot about last week is relief pitcher Cory Gearrin. Gearrin has pitched well in 2+ seasons in San Francisco, including a 1.99 ERA in 68 innings in 2017. His ERA in Scottsdale so far is 1.29. So this presents an interesting dilemma. The Giants currently have 14 pitchers in camp and will likely sport a 12-man pitching staff on Opening Day. We know that Will Smith won't be back until May, so who is the odd man out? Will the Giants stash Derek Holland in Sacramento rather than keeping him on the roster as a long-reliever? Holland can exercise an opt-out by 3/24. Would he do that if it's known he won't make the big club? Would the Giants rather send down Blach or Stratton (who do have Minor League options) and keep Holland in the fold? Are the Giants seriously considering keeping Julian Fernandez just so they don't have to send him back to the Rockies? Fernandez has pitched better in the past week, but his ERA is still a robust 18.56. What happens when Smith is ready to return to the club? Who gets sent down to Sacramento? Josh Osich still has a Minor League option, but he is still sporting a 0.00 ERA in Scottsdale.
The Giants play 4 more games in Arizona before heading to Sacramento for an exhibition game against the Triple-A River Cats and then heading back to the Bay for 3 against the Oakland A's. They open the season on the road in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on 3/29.
Pitchers
Tyler Beede
Roberto Gomez
Joan Gregorio
Derek Law
Andrew Suarez
Jose Valdez
Catchers
Trevor Brown
Justin O'Conner
Hector Sanchez
Infielders
Orlando Calixte
Chase d'Arnaud
Kyle Jensen
Outfielders
Chris Shaw
Austin Slater
Mac Williamson
The fact that Beede and Suarez were part of the cuts doesn't come as a major surprise. Both were competing for the final 2 rotation spots, but both have been outpitched by Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, and Derek Holland. Calixte and d'Arnaud being cut also isn't that surprising. Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson are the front runners to be backup infielders for Opening Day, but pay attention to Josh Rutledge who is still in camp. He's pushing Tomlinson, but Tomlinson currently has the trump card of being on the 40-man roster.
Of the outfielders, Williamson is the most surprising name. He has outplayed Jarrett Parker so one has to think this decision was made for one of two reasons. The baseball reason is that Williamson completely retooled his swing during the offseason and the Giants would rather have him playing every day in Sacramento to make sure his offensive production is for real than having him on the bench in San Francisco and playing maybe a couple times a week. The business reason is that Williamson still has a Minor League option left where Parker does not.
One guy I completely forgot about last week is relief pitcher Cory Gearrin. Gearrin has pitched well in 2+ seasons in San Francisco, including a 1.99 ERA in 68 innings in 2017. His ERA in Scottsdale so far is 1.29. So this presents an interesting dilemma. The Giants currently have 14 pitchers in camp and will likely sport a 12-man pitching staff on Opening Day. We know that Will Smith won't be back until May, so who is the odd man out? Will the Giants stash Derek Holland in Sacramento rather than keeping him on the roster as a long-reliever? Holland can exercise an opt-out by 3/24. Would he do that if it's known he won't make the big club? Would the Giants rather send down Blach or Stratton (who do have Minor League options) and keep Holland in the fold? Are the Giants seriously considering keeping Julian Fernandez just so they don't have to send him back to the Rockies? Fernandez has pitched better in the past week, but his ERA is still a robust 18.56. What happens when Smith is ready to return to the club? Who gets sent down to Sacramento? Josh Osich still has a Minor League option, but he is still sporting a 0.00 ERA in Scottsdale.
The Giants play 4 more games in Arizona before heading to Sacramento for an exhibition game against the Triple-A River Cats and then heading back to the Bay for 3 against the Oakland A's. They open the season on the road in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on 3/29.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Baseball season is so close!!!!
Yesterday the San Francisco Giants made their first round of roster cuts, trimming the Spring Training roster from 60 players to 47. No real notable names heading back to Sacramento. The only two that were realistically fighting for a Major League spot were left-handed relief pitcher Steven Okert and infielder Miguel Gomez.
Okert isn't a huge shock considering the Giants really only had room for maybe one other lefty out of the bullpen after signing Tony Watson in February. Will Smith is expected to be back from elbow surgery in May and Josh Osich has looked great this Spring allowing 0 earned runs over 5 games with 6 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Given the likelihood that either Ty Blach or Derek Holland could end up as a long reliever if they're not in the starting rotation, it's possible the Giants will feature 4 lefties in the bullpen once Smith returns, so I'm not surprised to see Okert being sent down.
Miguel Gomez was in competition for one of the backup infield positions and started off Spring very hot, sporting an average of .571 on February 26. But he's cooled off considerably going only 3 for 22 since then and seeing his average fall to .241. The Giants have a lot of names in camp that can play middle infield including Josh Rutledge, Chase d'Arnaud, and Orlando Calixte, and all 3 are hitting above .300 so far. All 3 of these players are non-roster invitees meaning that the Giants would have to remove a player from the 40-man roster to add one of these guys which is why I still think Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson are the most likely to make the Major League roster as reserve infielders, even though Tomlinson is currently only hitting .259.
No outfielders were cut so the Giants still have 10 in camp. Austin Jackson, Andrew McCutchen, and Hunter Pence are all locks to make the team, and with the Giants only planning on carrying 5 outfielders you have 7 players competing for 2 spots. Steven Duggar has looked great hitting .300 with 4 home runs over 30 at-bats. Still, considering he's only played 13 games above AA ball, I think it's more likely he starts the year in Sacramento but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him in a Giants uniform before this year is done. Mac Williamson re-tooled his swing over the Winter and the results have been dramatic. Williamson is hitting .378 with 4 home runs over 37 at-bats. The only hang-up on Williamson is that he has one more minor league option left so expect him to also start the year in Sacramento. But with the success both these players are having, is it possible we're seeing two starting outfielder for the 2019 season? Both Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Pence are free agents after this season and it would be great to find in-house replacements for both. As for the other 5, Gregor Blanco is the only one having a standout Spring. Both Austin Slater and Gorkys Hernandez are hitting below .200. Chris Shaw is hitting well, but will likely start in Sacramento for more seasoning. Jarrett Parker hasn't done anything to establish himself but he has no minor league options left so unless the Giants are willing to risk losing him to another team, expect him to make the Major League roster as a reserve. For the final spot, I like Gregor Blanco here. He's having a great Spring, can play good defense at all 3 outfield spots, and is left-handed which balances out the all-righty trio of McCutchen, Jackson, and Pence. Hernandez is out of minor league options but I can't see him making the team based on his numbers. If he does it will be a clear business decision by the Giants team rather than based on performance.
So as far as the roster goes, I think we're going to see the Giants break camp with the following position players:
C - Buster Posey
C - Nick Hundley
1B - Brandon Belt
2B - Joe Panik
3B - Evan Longoria
SS - Brandon Crawford
IF - Pablo Sandoval
IF - Kelby Tomlinson
LF - Hunter Pence
CF - Austin Jackson
RF - Andrew McCutchen
OF - Gregor Blanco
OF - Jarrett Parker
We're only going to spend a little time on pitchers because at this point the staff is still up in the air. We can probably make some educated guesses though. The Giants will carry 12 pitchers as they normally do. Sometimes they break camp with 13 depending on how many games they play before a day off, but they will have 2 off days within their first 9 games so 12 should be fine. We know that the top 3 starters will be Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, and Jeff Samardzija and I think it's pretty clear that Chris Stratton will be joining them. Mark Melancon will be the closer with Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland serving as the top 2 setup guys. We already talked about the 4 lefties in the bullpen, plus either Blach or Holland will likely be in the starting rotation. So based on my math, there's your 12-man pitching staff. Julian Fernandez was a Rule 5 draftee meaning he has to spend the year on the 25-man roster or he must be offered back to his original team (the Rockies), so there is an incentive to keep him. But Fernandez has pitched horribly this Spring. He currently has a 38.57 ERA (not a typo). Derek Law is still in camp and pitched well in 2016, but his Spring ERA is 6.75. Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez were competing for the last 2 rotation spots, but neither has pitched well enough this Spring to distance themselves from Stratton, Blach, or Holland.
So there you go. We're only about 2 weeks away from Opening Day and we have a pretty good idea as to what the roster will look like for the first game against the Dodgers. PLAY BALL!!!!!
Okert isn't a huge shock considering the Giants really only had room for maybe one other lefty out of the bullpen after signing Tony Watson in February. Will Smith is expected to be back from elbow surgery in May and Josh Osich has looked great this Spring allowing 0 earned runs over 5 games with 6 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Given the likelihood that either Ty Blach or Derek Holland could end up as a long reliever if they're not in the starting rotation, it's possible the Giants will feature 4 lefties in the bullpen once Smith returns, so I'm not surprised to see Okert being sent down.
Miguel Gomez was in competition for one of the backup infield positions and started off Spring very hot, sporting an average of .571 on February 26. But he's cooled off considerably going only 3 for 22 since then and seeing his average fall to .241. The Giants have a lot of names in camp that can play middle infield including Josh Rutledge, Chase d'Arnaud, and Orlando Calixte, and all 3 are hitting above .300 so far. All 3 of these players are non-roster invitees meaning that the Giants would have to remove a player from the 40-man roster to add one of these guys which is why I still think Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson are the most likely to make the Major League roster as reserve infielders, even though Tomlinson is currently only hitting .259.
No outfielders were cut so the Giants still have 10 in camp. Austin Jackson, Andrew McCutchen, and Hunter Pence are all locks to make the team, and with the Giants only planning on carrying 5 outfielders you have 7 players competing for 2 spots. Steven Duggar has looked great hitting .300 with 4 home runs over 30 at-bats. Still, considering he's only played 13 games above AA ball, I think it's more likely he starts the year in Sacramento but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him in a Giants uniform before this year is done. Mac Williamson re-tooled his swing over the Winter and the results have been dramatic. Williamson is hitting .378 with 4 home runs over 37 at-bats. The only hang-up on Williamson is that he has one more minor league option left so expect him to also start the year in Sacramento. But with the success both these players are having, is it possible we're seeing two starting outfielder for the 2019 season? Both Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Pence are free agents after this season and it would be great to find in-house replacements for both. As for the other 5, Gregor Blanco is the only one having a standout Spring. Both Austin Slater and Gorkys Hernandez are hitting below .200. Chris Shaw is hitting well, but will likely start in Sacramento for more seasoning. Jarrett Parker hasn't done anything to establish himself but he has no minor league options left so unless the Giants are willing to risk losing him to another team, expect him to make the Major League roster as a reserve. For the final spot, I like Gregor Blanco here. He's having a great Spring, can play good defense at all 3 outfield spots, and is left-handed which balances out the all-righty trio of McCutchen, Jackson, and Pence. Hernandez is out of minor league options but I can't see him making the team based on his numbers. If he does it will be a clear business decision by the Giants team rather than based on performance.
So as far as the roster goes, I think we're going to see the Giants break camp with the following position players:
C - Buster Posey
C - Nick Hundley
1B - Brandon Belt
2B - Joe Panik
3B - Evan Longoria
SS - Brandon Crawford
IF - Pablo Sandoval
IF - Kelby Tomlinson
LF - Hunter Pence
CF - Austin Jackson
RF - Andrew McCutchen
OF - Gregor Blanco
OF - Jarrett Parker
We're only going to spend a little time on pitchers because at this point the staff is still up in the air. We can probably make some educated guesses though. The Giants will carry 12 pitchers as they normally do. Sometimes they break camp with 13 depending on how many games they play before a day off, but they will have 2 off days within their first 9 games so 12 should be fine. We know that the top 3 starters will be Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, and Jeff Samardzija and I think it's pretty clear that Chris Stratton will be joining them. Mark Melancon will be the closer with Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland serving as the top 2 setup guys. We already talked about the 4 lefties in the bullpen, plus either Blach or Holland will likely be in the starting rotation. So based on my math, there's your 12-man pitching staff. Julian Fernandez was a Rule 5 draftee meaning he has to spend the year on the 25-man roster or he must be offered back to his original team (the Rockies), so there is an incentive to keep him. But Fernandez has pitched horribly this Spring. He currently has a 38.57 ERA (not a typo). Derek Law is still in camp and pitched well in 2016, but his Spring ERA is 6.75. Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez were competing for the last 2 rotation spots, but neither has pitched well enough this Spring to distance themselves from Stratton, Blach, or Holland.
So there you go. We're only about 2 weeks away from Opening Day and we have a pretty good idea as to what the roster will look like for the first game against the Dodgers. PLAY BALL!!!!!
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