With the start of the 2019 season rapidly approaching, I believe it’s time that we give you the ultimate breakdown of each division and predict their position in the standings come season’s end. It’s hard to predict record, so we’ll just give you their placement in the standings. Of course, this is coming from a fan’s perspective and what we think it could look like, not what it will. Today, we focus on the National League West and the San Francisco Giants:
San Francisco Giants
2018 record: 73-89, 4th in NL West
Projected Lineup:
CF Steven Duggar
2B Joe Panik
C Buster Posey
3B Evan Longoria
1B Brandon Belt
SS Brandon Crawford
LF Chris Shaw
RF Mac Williamson
Pitcher
Starting Rotation:
LH Madison Bumgarner
RH Dereck Rodriguez
RH Jeff Samardzija
LH Derek Holland
RH Chris Sutton
Key Bullpen Pieces:
LH Will Smith
RH Mark Melancon
LH Tony Watson
RH Sam Dyson
LH Ty Blach
Key Bench Pieces:
IF Pablo Sandoval
OF Gerardo Parra
OF Cameron Maybin
IF Yangervis Solarte
In what will be future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy’s final season in the bay, the Giants are hoping to send him off in victorious fashion. They attempted to bring in Bryce Harper, but failed, and now have to rely on their core guys of Posey, Belt, Panik and Crawford with a little bit of Longoria thrown in the mix, although each of these veterans have begun to digress. The key piece here, in my opinion, will be Brandon Belt. .253 average, .342 OBP, 18 doubles, 14 home runs and .756 OPS. Belt will need to step those numbers up in 2019 if the Giants want to have a shot. And then of course, Buster Posey who appeared in just 105 games last year. His OBP is one thing that always seemed to remain high. For a career, his OBP is .375.
As far as the rotation goes, the Giants have two very bright spots. The first being the full season return of their ace, Madison Bumgarner. Entering his final season under contract in the bay, Bumgarner hopes to return to his All Star form from 2013-2016 and leave the injuries behind him. Bumgarner started just 21 games in 2018, having not reached the 30 start plateau since 2016. If he can stay healthy and make his 30 starts this year, it would be big for the Giants. However, with this being his walk year, don’t be surprised if he’s traded to a contender at the deadline since we know what he can do in October. The other bright spot would be Dereck Rodriguez, son of Hall of Famer Ivan aka Pudge. Rodriguez made 19 starts last season and finished the year with a 2.81 ERA, 98 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 138. He will step in and become the number 2 in that rotation behind Bumgarner. Once Mad Bum’s expected departure at the deadline occurs, it becomes Rodriguez’s rotation.
The Giants bullpen seems to be pretty decent. Smith, Watson and Dyson all ended 2018 with sub 3 ERAs and very respectable WHIPs with 0.981, 1.030 and 1.081, respectively. Now, the hope is that Mark Melancon, who is entering his 3rd year of his 4 year, $62 million contract, will actually live up to said contract. In his two seasons with the Giants, Melancon has pitched to a 3.87 ERA and 1.511 WHIP in 73 games. Granted, he did have some arm injuries over those two years, but this year, Melancon needs to step up and become the reliever that San Francisco had signed
The Giants seem to have some pieces, but the Dodgers and Rockies look to be too rich for their blood. San Francisco and Arizona will be battling it out for 4th place, with the D’Backs coming out on top. An unfortunate bottom of the division finish to end the eventually Hall of Famer, Bochy’s, managerial career; I guess he’ll have to just deal with those three World Series rings in six seasons. Tough way to go out, I know.
2019 prediction: 5th in NL West
