The San Francisco Giants are one of the most well-run sports franchises in American sports. They always seem to be competitive, you never hear about them having a barren farm system and they always get the most out of their roster. They had a down year last season, but made some trades this offseason to get back into the postseason.
The Giants should battle for a playoff spot this season. I just like what they did as they improved the bullpen and added some proven veterans on offense.
They have one of the best ballparks in the country. I need to make it out to see a game at AT&T Park before that area gets too gentrified and I can afford ‘cheap’ hotel.
Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the San Francisco Giants.
2017 Win/Loss Record: 64-98
Key Additions: 3B Evan Longoria, OF Andrew McCutchen, OF Austin Jackson, OF Gregor Blanco, SS Chase d’Arnaud, SP Derek Holland, 1B Kyle Jensen, RP Manny Parra & 3B Josh Rutledge
Key Losses: SP Matt Moore, OF Denard Span, RP Kyle Crick, SP Matt Cain & RP Albert Suarez
Interleague Schedule: AL West
Projected Starters: Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Eduardo Nunez, Brandon Crawford, Jarrett Parker, Denard Span & Hunter Pence
Projected Starting Rotation: Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore & Matt Cain
Closer: Mark Melancon
Fantasy Sleeper: RP Tony Watson – It’s hard to pick a sleeper on the Giants, so I’m going with a guy who could pick up some saves. Watson flourished as Mark Melancon’s setup man in Pittsburgh. He now finds himself in the same situation in San Francisco. Malancon was a healthy closer back then and did not look very good last season. He had forearm surgery, so there’s some red flags. Watson would be a nice handcuff to have, especially in NL-only leagues.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: SP Tyler Beede – Beede is currently the best pitching prospects in the Giants farm system. San Francisco always seems to have one in the chamber when it comes to solid starting pitching prospects. He didn’t perform as well as expected in Triple-A last season. He probably needs a few months in the minors before the Giants think about putting him in the rotation. Let’s hope he starts to figure out batters at that level.
Team Analysis: The Giants season ended last season when ace Madison Bumgarner injured his pitching shoulder in a dirt bike accident. They knew going into last season that they needed strong pitching to win games as their offense wasn’t explosive. Losing Bumgarner just set an order of events that saw them only winning 64 games.
The Giants made two bold moves this offseason. They first traded the Rays for third baseman Evan Longoria and then acquired outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the Pirates. They gave up a few prospects, but the cost didn’t really put a huge dent in the Giants farm system. They needed Major League talent on offense and had to dive into their piggy bank for assets.
The NL West will be a hard division to win. The Dodgers arguably have one of the best two rosters in the National League and the Diamondbacks and Rockies made some moves this offseason to put themselves in the hunt. I have faith in the Giants that they will figure out their issues and have a much better year in 2018. Longoria and McCutchen will be a vitamin B-12 shot to the offense. I also believe that the historically-durable ace Bumgarner will bounce back from his injury. They will be in the hunt for the second Wild Card spot in the National League…if the NL West doesn’t eat each other up this year.
2018 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 82.5 (Prediction: OVER)
2018 Projected Win/Loss Record: 84-78 (2nd in NL West)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.