San Francisco Giants: Who To Draft, Who to Avoid in Fantasy Baseball

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 08: (L-R) Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants, Seth George of Louisville Slugger, Brandon Crawford #35 and Buster Posey #28 of Giants poses for this picture after the players receivesd their Louisville Slugger Silver Bat Awards for 2015 prior to the start of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park on April 8, 2016 in San Francisco, California. Crawford also received a Wilson's Gold Glove award. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 08: (L-R) Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants, Seth George of Louisville Slugger, Brandon Crawford #35 and Buster Posey #28 of Giants poses for this picture after the players receivesd their Louisville Slugger Silver Bat Awards for 2015 prior to the start of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park on April 8, 2016 in San Francisco, California. Crawford also received a Wilson's Gold Glove award. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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As we jump into spring training here in just four days, San Francisco Giants fans are likely getting ready to do some fantasy baseball drafts. So who should you avoid? Who should you draft? We’ll break it down right here.

Fantasy baseball drafts will commence here in the coming weeks, and without fault, San Francisco Giants fans will be tempted to draft one of the “G-Men.” While there are some you should definitely take a look at, there are others you should likely avoid. But let’s start with the easy part. Who are the guys that are guaranteed to give you solid production?

There are about five guys that I would consider to be obvious must drafts. Those would be:

Those guys are guaranteed to be someone you would want to have on your team. Is it smart to load up on all of them? I would advise against it, as there are likely better options at all spots outside of Buster Posey.  But as I said, that’s the obvious part.

The next group of players are the fringe players. These are players who would be very good value adds later in the draft, but not worth seeking out:

The Giants starters threw the most innings in baseball last year, so their reliever, despite their effectiveness, just arent great options. If they threw more innings, then I’d feel a little better jumping for them. Watson and Melancon will be their better ones, but aren’t strikeout guys, which matters a lot for pitchers. Samardzija, I almost considered putting in as a sure thing, but he had so little decisions last year, that his strikeout/walk numbers didn’t combine well with the homers he gave up, plus the lack of wins. So for now, he’s a fringe guy.

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The three offensive additions to this side, Longoria, Jackson, Crawford and Panik are there mainly because there are much more enticing options available at their positions. Longoria had a down year, and moves to a less hitter friendly park. On top of it, Crawford and Panik are great all around players, but not elite enough at the plate for it to be worth spending early picks on them.

All of those guys fall under the category of “good depth additions.” But they aren’t guys that you should try to build your teams around. Remember, this is fantasy baseball. It’s all about stats, not about how they fit into their team’s overall performance.

Crawford and Panik do a lot of things that don’t show up in fantasy baseball. Top 10 players at their position? Of course. They’re just not worth building your fantasy team around. Remember that. Now, the hard question of players to avoid in the draft.

If there were any players I’d avoid from the Giants, it’s the bullpen and the back end starters. Don’t draft them. Wait until they prove their worth a pickup. Those guys would include:

Next: Should the Giants be Worried about the Padres?

So what’s the point of this? Well, there are 5 players on the Giants that you should absolutely pull the trigger on in the draft. After that, there are a lot of question marks. Also, you must remember that this is fantasy. There are a lot of other good players in this league that would be worth taking over the other 20 question mark type players. If that question mark player is your best option available, then by all means, go ahead and add them. But be careful of letting your Giants fandom blind your judgement when drafting a team.