After a run of World Series, the lineup doesn’t quite pack the same punch as it did before. The Giants don’t have much power and speed, and the health of Buster Posey is going to be a talking point throughout the season. If Posey is back to his usual self, he is one of the better offensive catchers in the middle of the lineup. Brandon Belt is the power bat in the lineup, but in comparison to other power bats he lacks. Him and Posey will back the middle of the lineup, with hopes that Joe Panik and Evan Longoria can get on base enough in front of them. The back half of the lineup is one of the poorer ones in the league, and names like Austin Slater and Steve Duggar are not going to be threatening to any pitcher. Brandon Crawford is an underrated shortstop option, that provides some life in the middle of the order.
2019 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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