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Okay so it is an even year, so most fans in the Bay Area can only think of one thing…Another World Series ring right?
Come on, they won in 2010 and 2012, why not 2014?
The win in 2012 was a nice statistical oddity, but when you factor in that the hunger to win a World Series must dissipate a little bit when you have just cashed one in, then maybe another one can be achieved when the next year hits again.
The Giants went 76 – 86 in 2013, this is more of a stretch, for when they completed the 2011 campaign at 86 – 76 following their 1st World Series Title.
There is room for optimism though, from their top 7 hitters in the Batting Order, this team features some of the streakiest guys at the plate in the MLB.
Marco Scutaro was signed to a 3 YR deal worth $21 MIL prior to the 2013 year. The 2B did not disappoint last campaign – 3 slashing .297/.357/.369 – while only being K’d 34 times in 547 PA. The 38 Year Old is one of the best contact hitters in the game of baseball, and like his .362 BA with the Giants at the end of the 2012 year showed, followed by a stellar .328 playoff run, en route to a WS Title, this guy is a big gamer. A lot of the core hitters are like him in Sandoval and Posey, possessing great contact numbers. For those other guys it comes with power, but Scutaro is a great #2 hitter for this team.
Marco Scutaro hit about .360 in the 2nd half of 2012, and .328 in the 2012 playoffs.
He of course was the replacement on the roster for Melky Cabrera (who won the NL Batting Title – even though he bowed out of the Award) batting .346, winning the MVP of the ALL – Star Game, before being sniped on a PED suspension.
Buster Posey hit almost as well for the entire 2012 year, and was the MVP for the NL that season.
Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval have been known to have torrid stretches of play when the moon is aligned the right way. and Hunter Pence has shown a penchant for the same.
Brandon Belt has the quietest 60 Extra Base Hits in the MLB (17 HRs, 3 – 3B and 39 – 2B) during the 2013 year. Here he is seen with Pence, who also hit 27 HRs without much fanfare. You are looking at the #5 and #6 hitters for the club. If that weren’t enough, they have Mike Morse hitting 7th after them. The length of the lineup should have the Giants yielding one of the better offenses in the 2014 year.
You add in ever improving Brandon Belt, the defense of Brandon Crawford, and the X-Factor player of Mike Morse (who hit 31 HRs only a few years back for Washington – and about 10 HRS in the 1st 6 weeks of 2013 for Seattle, and this could be a team firing on all cylinders with their sticks, for portions of the 2014 season.
The Starting Pitching is much of the same. Tim Lincecum thrives like greatness in the 2nd half, despite serving up tater – trots in the 1st half, and Ryan Vogelsong has fared much the same way.
Adding Tim Hudson was a smart calculated move. i personally think they should limit his innings, to keep him strong down the stretch.
Matt Cain‘s resurgence will be paramount for the San Fran squad. He needs to be the pitcher he has been every year except for 2013.
There is no doubt the guys all played extra baseball from the 2010 – 2012 stretch, and also dealt with the 2013 WBC for good measure.
Romo just turned 31 this past week. Last campaign, the 6 year Veteran registered 38 Saves for San Francisco. If the Giants can also improve on their 76 win year, this should help him out. Romo has posted a 2.27 ERA in 341 Appearances for the squad, and also carries a mark of 2.51 in 16 more appearances. He is one of the most dependable Bullpen Closers in the game right now. One who should also be motivated with this being a contract year.
The Bullpen is still a massive asset with Sergio Romo still anchoring it, with underrated lefty specialist Jeremy Affeldt – plus other relief stalwarts in Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez manning jobs in the late frames.
A team like San Francisco really knows how to use AT & T Park to their advantage versus their opponents.
They have just enough pitching – and a nice offense to turnaround what was a disappointing 2013 year.
Bruce Bochy is also the best field general in the game, bar none.
There is no doubt the rivalry between the Dodgers and Giants will hit an ALL – Time high, with the southern California team being payroll leaders in the MLB.
A few years ago, San Francisco did not have to deal with a team full of ALL – Stars. Having said that, Los Angeles is injury prone, and has a chance to self-destruct on its own.
The Giants will be in contention all year, and should be among the top teams vying for the final 2 Wild Card Slots even if the Dodgers run away with the NL West.
San Francisco holds the current sellout streak at their home park – and for good reason, the team has won 2 of the last 4 World Series – and has the best stadium in the Majors.
Listed on baseballreference.com at 240 LBS (yeah – right, more like 270) has not slowed down his bat speed. Sandoval enters 2014 with a 3 Slash Line of .298/.351/.476 in his career so far. He also has only fanned 379 Times in 2895 Plate Appearances. It is nice to see you can have a guy hit for power without Striking Out 100 times a year. Sandoval is also .325/.360/.614 – with 6 HRs and 15 RBI In the playoffs. If SF gets there, he could do some more damage. There is no doubt the “Panda” is probably better served as a DH past 2014, but for this year, here is hoping he remains healthy for the timeframe.
Look for a huge year from the “Panda” as it is Sandoval’s walk year for a contract.
Most of the guys on the team are great at putting the bat on the ball for contact. Scutaro continues to do this year and year out – only fanning 34 times in nearly 550 ABs for 2013.
Sandoval is also tough to punch out in late game circumstances. Pence and Pagan whiff the most, but based on their steady numbers, this should not prohibit the club for keeping rallies going.
The Wild Card in all of this is Morse, who yields a .281 Lifetime Batting Average, and was able to club 31 HRs in his last full year of duty.
Brandon Belt was a nice story for last year club. spanking 60 Extra Base Hits in 150 Games Played. When you have a home park like AT & T, then XBH are more of a power stat than big flies.
Noted in this offense is also the clubs ability to draw walks. This prolongs Starters on the hill for the opposition.
Another player that has a great Strikeout rate is Buster Posey. He walks almost as much as he is a victim of a K. Last year he was 60/70 respectively.
Buster Posey is one of the best players in the game of baseball pure and simple. The 2012 NL MVP is the leader of the Giants offense and game caller for the pitching staff. He has had a down year in respect to his numbers in recent years – with .294/.371/.450 – with 15 HRs - but those are still outstanding Catcher numbers.. The two time champion signed a contract extension last year that will see him make $164 MIL from 2013 – 2021. Will he be able to play the duration of his contract as a backstopper – or will he eventually be moved to 1st Base? For such a power hitting player, he also makes great contact. The 2012 NL Batting Champion should challenge for several more MVP Awards, including the coming year.
Projected Lineup Offense: 3 Slash
1. Pagan CF: .280/.350/.400 – with 35 SB and 100 Runs
2. Scutaro 2B: .288/.340/.360
3. Sandoval 3B: .285/.360/.465 – 25 HRs 90 RBI
4. Posey C: .315/.400/.550 – 29 HRs 105 RBI
5. Pence RF: .275/.333/.500 – 25 HRs 82 RBI
6. Belt 1B: .282/.350/.460 – with 60 XBH 70 RBI
7. Morse LF: .265/.320/.425 – with 21 HRs 65 RBI
8. Crawford .250/.300/.375
9. The Pitcher.
Matt Cain wasn’t Matt Cain in 2013. He struggled for the 1st part of the season. Plagued by fatigue from throwing several extra innings from regular season and post season play from 2010 – 2012, that is at least a good excuse. His 1st half ERA was 5.06 in 19 Game Starts – compared to a great 2.36 clip in his 11 Game Starts – Post ALL – Star Break. Look for him to have a bounce back season this year.
Defense
While I am not sure Cain will be his NL Cy Young type self anymore, look for him to reclaim his #1 status on this ballclub.
I think Bumgarner is the steadiest hurler out of the Starters. He may not possess no – hit stuff like Lincecum and Cain can if they are on, a 2.77 2013 ERA is proof though. he is a leader on this staff.
Bumgarner, Lincecum and Cain all have great hit and miss stuff, and could surpass nearly 600 Strikeouts between them in 2014.
It is tough to believe that Bumgarner is only 24 Years Old. Like Posey, he has 2 World Series in his 4 full years, and this guy is signed to a long-term extension through the 2019 season. Last year, Bumgarner was 5th in the NL with a 2.77 ERA, and finished 9th in NL Cy Young Voting. Being a dominant LHP in this rotation is of the utmost importance, when you surround him with the RHP quartet of Cain, Lincecum, Hudson and Vogelsong.
Bringing in Hudson, and having Vogelsong not decimated by throwing too much, should provide great back end of the rotation.
Vogelsong was 27 – 16, with a sub 3 ERA for the years of 2011 and 2012, before posting his 5.73 ERA in his 19 Game Starts in 2013.
Exiting the ballclub with $7 MIL still in cash is Barry Zito, who featured a 5.74 ERA in 25 Game Starts during 2013.
There simply can’t be this kind of production from the #4 and #5 starters this year.
Tim Hudson has seen his numbers decline for the last 4 years, but has only ever tallied 1 year with an ERA north of 4 in the NL (4.84 ERA in 2006 with ATL).
Now he is probably going to go over that threshold in 2014, but look for him to battle it out way better than Zito did for his Giants Career.
Hudson knows how to pitch – crafting his way through the lineup just enough. Using him as a 4 or 5 should help out on his Innings level too.
He will probably do best at around 28 or 29 Game Starts. I would be surprised if pitching in California doesn’t just help the guy.
The signing of him for 2 YRs was brilliant. This squad has all top 4 guys coming back for another campaign in 2015 as well.
Tim Hudson has been one of the best pitchers in the game of baseball over the last 15 years. Even though he has seen ERA increases in the last 4 years, going in order: 2.83, 3.22, 3.67 and 3.97 from 2010 – 2013 respectively, moving to the Bay Area should keep his ERA hovering around the 4 mark for the next few years. Hudson is a quality Starting Pitcher as a #4 starter. Either he or Lincecum must pitch better than anyone is anticipating, yet they both will be gamers and keep San Fran around in the playoff race.
Pitching Rotation Projections
#1. Cain: 15 – 10, 3.33 ERA
#2. Bumgarner: 14 – 8, 3.20 ERA
#3. Lincecum: 13 – 11, 3.90 ERA
#4. Hudson: 12 – 11, 4.14 ERA
#5. Vogelsong: 10 – 12, 4.44 ERA
Starting Rotation 65 – 52, 3.80 ERA
Bullpen: 23 – 22, 3.25 ERA
Bullpen:
Romo: 41 Saves
The rest of the Relief Core will be as steady as ever. Nobody runs a better bench than Bochy either.
Also Brian Sabean will be on the search and locate for players that can help this core go for another Title before the Trade Deadline comes and goes.
The Giants have stepped up to the big boys network of payroll, and will have to spend as much money as they generate to keep up with the Dodgers.
My prediction for this club is a win range from 88 – 92 Wins. They MUST play .600 baseball vs the Padres, D’Backs and Rockies. This would mean 35 Wins minimum out of 57 games versus those foes.
If they can hold their own versus the Dodgers, and pummel the teams in the NL East like: Phillies, Mets and Marlins, than this squad should be in the running for the Post season.
Lincecum hasn’t had a great couple of seasons, although the two time NL CY Young Winner displayed the form for a handful of starts in both of the 2012 and 2013 years. It was still the right move locking him up for the next 2 years at a total of $35 MIL. The key is that he is #3 on the depth chart. At just 29 still, you have to think he can throw well for at least a couple of more years. He was able to Strikeout nearly 200 (197 in 2013) – and was the second year he just missed the clip – after fashioning 4 straight campaigns with that amount from 2008 – 2011. Pitching is always at a premium for cost, and $35 MIL for the total commitment is not that bad.
*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com ***
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A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Chief Writer‘ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured article. Hunter is a Baseball Writer for MLB reports.
Hunter grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia and played baseball with Sheldon Bream (Sid Bream‘s son) at Liberty University in the NCAA.
His favorite player is Brian Wilson (how could you guess?), and he hates when people can’t think outside the box!
His favorite expression – is ‘ this At Bat is about ten seconds away from a Toe – Tag!
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Tagged: 2010 World Series, 2012 world series, 2014 San Francisco Giants Preview, 2014 san franisco giants 25 man roster, angel pagan, arizona diamondbacks, barry zito, brandon belt, brian sabean, bruce bochy, buster posey, colorado rockies, hunter pence, javier lopez, Jeremy Affeldt, los angeles dodgers, madison bumgarner, Marco scutaro, matt cain, melky cabrera, miami marlins, Mike Morse, new york mets, NL east, nl west, pablo sandoval, ryan vogelsong, san diego padres, san francisco giants, santiago casilla, sergio romo, tim hudson, tim lincecum
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