SF Giants: Where They Stand In The West

Spring training is here. That means it’s every baseball writers favorite time of year; prediction season. All writers give their predictions for divisions, yearly awards and more. Most of the time, their wrong (including me). Nevertheless, it’s still fun to do.

What I’m giving you today isn’t a prediction, it’s more to tell you where the Giants stand in the division at the three main parts of the team. So, let’s begin:

Starting Rotation: 

The NL West made moves for pitching this offseason. And I means big moves. The Diamondbacks got Greinke and Miller, the Dodgers got Kazmir and Maeda and the Giants got Cueto and Samardzija. All three rotations are good, but you could argue only two got better.

The Dodgers lost Greinke and gained Kazmir, which is a huge step down. They signed Kenta Maeda out of Japan, for what seems to be a contract that favors them. He is an upgrade over the number three they had last year, too. The fact that they couldn’t re-sign Greinke is a huge loss, though. He finished second place in Cy Young voting last year, posting a 1.66 ERA, a 5.9 WAR and a 2.76 FIP. The season he has last year is practically irreplaceable, and they didn’t try very hard to replace it. Don’t get me wrong, Kazmir is a good pitcher, but he isn’t Greinke. Kazmir’s stats, in comparison, are a 3.10 ERA, a 2.4 WAR, and a 3.98 FIP. Obviously, Greinke probably won’t have the same year, but he is still better than Kazmir, and it is a bit of a downgrade. With the signing of Maeda out of Japan, it is a bit of a mystery, so what Maeda can bring is yet to be seen. They gained Alex Wood, who may stay in the rotation or move to the bullpen. And of course, they still have the best pitcher in the world, Clayton Kershaw. Sot it isn’t all bad.

The D-Backs had a good off-season, practically stealing Greinke away from the Giants and acquiring Shelby Miller in a trade. Greinke is a huge add, as I just explained above. He will instantly slot in as the ace, and is pitching in a slightly better ballpark. Miller will most likely be the number 2, but they gave up too much for him. He is a good pitcher, but struggled win-loss wise last year. He pitched to the tune of a 3.02 ERA, a 3.4 WAR, and a 4.07 FIP. In other words, he is a better addition than the one of Kazmir. They also have a good, young lefty in Patrick Corbin, who, by all accounts, will take a step forward, and might be a better three than Maeda. With that being said, that makes the Diamondbacks rotation better than the Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks may have had a good off-season, but the Giants had a great one. Yeah, a great off-season. They acquired Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. Last year was the biggest struggle they’ve had pitching wise since they went on the World Series run. They had ace Madison Bumgarner, and after that, it was painful at times. Bobby Evans knew he had to fix something coming into the off-season, and boy did he ever. Johnny Cueto has been one of the best right handed pitchers in baseball since he came into the league. His career numbers are a 3.30 ERA, a 22.8 WAR, and a 3.82 FIP. He was also the ace of the Reds staff for most of his tenure there, and also had two of the great seasons by a right hander in recent memory in the 2012 and 2014 seasons. In 2014, he finished second in Cy Young voting, and was also an All-Star.

Samardzija on the other hand, isn’t the super ace that Cueto was/is. He has been on a number of bad teams in his career, so that hasn’t really helped his numbers, which is why many people think he is not very good. He has pitched to a 4.09 ERA, a 3.84 FIP, and a 12.4 WAR. He pitched for a number of bad Cubs teams for the early part of his career and was a top of the rotation guy for them. However, he struggled pitching in that ballpark for that team. He was traded to the A’s half way through the 2014 season, and he pitched well. He finished that season with a 2.99 ERA, a 3.20 FIP, and a 4.1 WAR. This showed his full potential and what he could be if put in a good situation, and a good pitching coach. He has the stuff to be a number 2 type pitcher.

Last year was hard fought for both pitchers. With that being said, they both had good, “excuses,” if you will. Cueto was said to have an elbow injury for most of the year, and even with that, he had a few good outings for the Royals in the postseason. For Samrdzija, he was pitching for a terrible team, with a terrible defense, for a pitching coach he didn’t get along with. He also said that he was tipping pitches throughout the season. Pitching at AT&T, and for Dave Righetti, should help him immensely.

Verdict: It’s the Giants in a landslide. Although they have the worst ace out of the tree, they have the better all around rotation. They arguably have two aces in Bumgarner and Cueto, and they also have a good number 2 in Samardzija, who will pitch as their number three. They also have better depth, with Cain, Heston, and Peavy pitching behind them. All in all, it is going to be a fun rotation to watch.

Next: Starting Lineup

Bullpen:

This is the toughest group to evaluate. All of the squads are all around the same level. If the deal for Chapman the Dodgers made went through, it would be no question. However, since they didn’t, it’s still as close as ever.

The Dodgers have some nice pieces. Kenley Jansen is a hard throwing righty who has saved 35+ games in each of the last two years. He also has never had an ERA at or above 3.00, or a FIP at or above 2.50. He is likely going to be a top 5 closer in baseball, and will be very very good. Veteran J.P. Howell will also anchor the back end of games for the Dodgers. He had a career year last year, throwing to a 1.43 ERA and 3.34 FIP. He had been very good for the Dodgers since joining them in 2013. Luis Avilan struggled after joining the Dodgers, going 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA in 23 games. Before joining the Dodgers, Avilan was a solid reliever, but he has regressed the past two years. Pedro Baez, a prety decent pitcher who has good stuff will also be back there. Alex Wood, who has been a starter for most all of his career, may not be this season. With all of the pitchers acquired this off-season by the Dodgers, and his struggles last year, he may end up being a reliever. And with the stuff he has, he would end up being a rather good one.

The D-Backs improved their pen a bit this off-season. They added Tyler Clippard, who has been one of the best right handed relievers in the game during his career. He has a career 2.88 ERA, and a 3.72 FIP. He started some games in his first two years in the beginning of his career, so he would be able to give the D-Backs that if they absolutely need it. Clippard has also been a star closer, though he probably won’t be doing that in Arizona. Brad Zielger will take the closing duties for Arizona. He had an absolutely stellar season in 2015, closing 30 games in 32 opportunities, along with a 1.85 ERA. They might have the weakest bullpen of the three because they don’t necessarily have the depth of the others.

The Giants may have the most depth in the pen, and they are probably the youngest, too. Veteran Santiago Casilla will once again assume the closer role. He closed 38 games with a 2.79 ERA and was a very good closer. And in 2014, while he only closed 19 games, he had a 1.70 ERA. The Giants are coming into the 2016 season with a good young core of relievers. Hunter Strickland, who was known for giving up a bunch of homers in the 2014 post season, had an amazing 2015. He throws very, very hard, and posted a 2.45 ERA with a 2.90 FIP in 55 games. Oh, and he also only allowed 4 homers in 51.1 innings. If Casilla ever struggles in the closer role, Strickland would be the best option to back him up.

Mike Broadway, another hard throwing righty, is heading into his sophomore season. He also throws very hard, and has good stuff, but he struggled a tiny bit last year posting a 5.19 ERA in 21 games. Hopefully he can put it together and become a great 1-2 righty tandem with Strickland. Josh Osich is also going into his sophomore season and will be replacing Jeremy Affeldt as a lefty in the pen. He throws mid 90s with a good cutter and change, and posted a 2.20 ERA in 35 games last year. Of course, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez will be solid options as always.

Verdict:

While all bullpens are relatively close to each other, the Giants just slightly come out on top. They have better depth than any of the other teams, and everyone throws about mid 90s. Romo, Casilla, and Lopez will be as good as always, and the sophomore hope to put up great seasons again.

You may notice that I didn’t mention the Rockies or the Padres. Because, frankly, they aren’t really relevant in the division. The Dodgers, D-Backs, and the Giants will all be competing for the division title. The Giants are the best in two of the three biggest team categories. They have some of the best pitching, rotation or bullpen, in all of baseball. Their lineup is very solid, like I said, it’s the best out of all of the World Series teams. It will produce many runs and the pitching will shut everyone down. It is going to be a really fun year, so get ready, Giants fans.

Next: Slide Rules Increase Middle Infielders' Value