One San Francisco Giants Position Player and Pitcher Who Need to Improve

Through 48 games, the injured San Francisco Giants sit at an even 24-24. When accounting for injuries to their top two starters, starting second baseman and high-priced closer – the record looks even better.

Giants fans should be optimistic. Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Joe Panik and Mark Melancon returning to their roles could provide a boon much like a series of mid-season acquisitions.

Even Hunter Pence is reportedly experimenting with a new swing, but I would expect a wait-and-see approach for how successful and effective he can be.

Around them, other Giants are picking up the slack to keep the proverbial boat afloat.

For starters, the Brandons are playing at an All Star level. Belt has a stunning 1.006 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) with 11 homers. Crawford is in the midst of his own hot streak, as he is complimenting his usual stellar defense with an average above .300 after a dismal offensive start to the season.

Meanwhile, Evan Longoria and Nick Hundley have shown off their power with 8 and 5 home runs, respectively. Even Pablo Sandoval is contributing off the bench!

While the rotation is struggling, the bullpen has produced well enough to hold down the fort for the hurlers.

Current closer Hunter Strickland has done a stellar job filling in for Melancon with 9 saves, a 2.18 ERA and 0.92 WHIP.

Signing lefty Tony Watson looks to be a shrewd move from the front office despite a rocky May, as he has held down the setup role with a 2.14 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Additionally, Sam Dyson and Reyes Moronta have done good work in the middle innings.

The Giants are going to need all the help they can get as they enter a rough road trip, with visits to the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies coming up.

So without further adieu, let’s examine one position player and one pitcher who the team could use improvement from at this juncture.

With the aforementioned Bumgarner and Cueto being injured, the de facto top starting pitcher should be the veteran Jeff Samardzija.

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You know, the guy who has made an All Star game and is making $18MM per year through 2020.

Yeah, well he has pitched to a 6.30 ERA over his first 30 innings of the season. This isn’t like his ERA last year, where advanced stats portrayed a much more better picture. His FIP is a brutal 5.67.

So what’s the difference? Well for starters, he’s walking more hitters than he has ever before, as he has posted a 5.4 BB/9.

Coupled with his sudden inability to find the strike zone, is a 6.9 K/9 that matches his career low. These lead to a K/BB ratio of 1.28, which to put it simply, is not good.

However, there are reasons for optimism. The Giants likely rushed Shark back unnecessarily from his pectoral injury because of their depleted starting pitching depth. This could mean that he’s still not 100% and could stand to improve as the season wears on.

He also posted encouraging results in his last start. He allowed eight baserunners (5 hits, 3 walks) over 6.2 innings. All three runs came in a rough 2nd inning, but those sorts of inconsistencies can be worked out in the long run for a recovering pitcher.

With the three youngsters Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, and Andrew Suarez, and veteran Derek Holland all posting ERAs above 4.00, Samardzija is going to get all the chances to prove he can bounce back from these early season struggles.

Even after Bum and Cueto come back, it’s far more likely one of those young pitchers or Holland gets the boot from the rotation over Shark, so get used to him fans.