San Francisco is looking at the same old lineup as the last few seasons. This group won a few World Series, but it is time for the Giants to move on already. Buster Posey and Brandon Belt are the more notable names within the lineup, but have been dealing with a decline and injuries over the last few seasons. Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria will surround them in the infield as average at best bats. There isn’t much pop in this lineup, and whatever is left, the ballpark will depress it. The farm system has been depleted for a few years, so the names on the roster are the ones they are stuck with at the moment. This is going to be a bottom tier lineup in terms of offense, as names like Steven Duggar, Mac Williamson, and Joe Panik are just not cutting it.
2020 San Francisco Giants Pitching Analysis
San Francisco used to be known for their pitching rotations, but things have changed. The Giants have been putting out Madison Bumgarner’s name in trades recently, seeing what they could possibly get. Bumgarner’s health has not been there the last two seasons, and that has to be a concern for the overall aging Giants. After Bumgarner, this rotation is rocky. The days of an epic one through four rotation with above average names is now gone. We had names like Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum following the ace, but times have changed. Jeff Samardzija has been banged up, and even when healthy last season he was clearly not healthy with diminished velocity. His home run numbers were also up. He ended up pitching just 44 innings with over a six ERA. Bumgarner managed to pitch 129 innings, but was lackluster on the hill. His strikeout stuff wasn’t on par with his career norms, and he had a 1.25 WHIP. This might be a major reason for the Giants to ship him out and try and get something in return. He was never a monster strikeout candidate, but averaging less than a strikeout per inning shows where he is at in his career right now.
Derek Holland made some positive changes to his game, and his strikeouts went up. He is also going to get the advantage of pitching in San Francisco again, where the home runs allowed took a drop for him. Holland is still going to have some rough outings, but overall he might have some fantasy value as a mid-range starter. We shouldn’t expect a mid three ERA again, but the strikeout numbers are something that could return. Son of former big leaguer, Ivan Rodriguez, has been pitching well for the Giants. Dereck Rodriguez pitched 118 innings, and had a 2.81 ERA. He has average strikeout stuff, and actually isn’t a bad arm to round out the rotation with. He is more of a pitch to contact guy, but had a positive swinging strike rate. He isn’t a high end prospect, but is a name worth watching. Ty Blach and Andrew Suarez both had major weaknesses against opposing bats, and will battle out for the fifth rotation spot.
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