San Francisco Giants 2017 Player Review: Starting Pitchers
B+. . LHP. San Francisco Giants. MADISON BUMGARNER
Record: 4-9
ERA: 3.32
IP: 111
GS: 17
Where were you when you found out that Madison Bumgarner fell off a dirt bike and injured his shoulder? Yeah, I don’t remember either. But I do remember that it upset me.
It cost him almost 3 months, and it was an early sign from the baseball gods that 2017 was not going to be very fun.
The good news is that it was the same old Bumgarner on the mound once he recovered fully. There weren’t any velocity issues, his control seemed to be fine. It was a huge relief for all Giants fans to see that nothing was wrong.
I know some may want to give him a lower grade due to his fiasco, but a B+ is fair. His 3.32 ERA puts his career ERA over 3, but how about a solid 2018 to get that back below 3 where it belongs.
Don’t let the 4-9 record deceive you, in the 17 games he started, he got on average 2.76 runs of support. I’m a little worried that with Cain retiring, the lack of run support is just going to transfer to Bumgarner. I hope that I’m wrong.
If anything, Bumgarner’s tumble can serve as a positive if he decides to call in quits for his dirt bike riding days. He’s one of the greatest Giants, not to mention World Series pitchers, of all time. So, I’m not and wasn’t too upset about the whole ordeal.
Dirt bike aside, it was a less than average year for Bumgarner. Thankfully, he seems fine now health-wise, and we’re all hopeful he’s ready for a solid bounce back year in 2018.
Next: It's OK to watch the Postseason
Here is the schedule for the rest of our season grades, as well as the ones that have already published.
- Oct 7th: Outfielders
- Oct 7th: Infielders
- Oct 8th: Starting Pitchers
- Oct 9th: Bullpen
- Oct 10th: Catchers
- Oct 11th: Management