San Francisco Giants: 3 Up and 3 Down from Week 3
The San Francisco are hitting like… Well, the San Francisco Giants. They continue to struggle to score runs in the hitter-friendly Cactus League.
The struggle is not an issue across the league. As Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News pointed out, the San Francisco Giants had scored just 83 runs in a span of 21 games. That is an average just below 4 runs.
For years, the Giants offense was built to score just enough runs. Just enough runs was usually 4 runs per game as their chances of winning greatly increased at that point.
If the Giants struggle to score runs in the Cactus League, the issue will not improve as they move back to the cold, expansive dimensions of Oracle Park.
The hope is that many of the established players are working on their swing mechanics so poor spring stats are part of the process.
It seems like several players who sustained injuries last season including Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, and Evan Longoria are all off to a hot start this spring. Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey have been less hot, or cold as the laymen say, as they recover from injury.
At this point in the spring, roster cuts are taking place and camp battles are coming in to focus. There are not many roster spots open, but it seems like the San Francisco Giants will add a few non-roster invitees.
For the 3rd week of Spring Training, the good have been Brandon Belt, Trevor Gott, and Steven Vogt.
The lows from the 3rd week include Steven Okert, Pat Venditte, and Pablo Sandoval.
Brandon Belt sustained a couple of injures last season. Of course, Belt needs to hit his quota of one freak injury per year, and 2018 did not disappoint. He needed an emergency appendectomy, and never fully recovered after the procedure.
Yet again, he appears to be healthy this spring. He is batting .370 with a 1.045 OPS including 2 home runs. He had a titanic home run last week.
On Friday, he used his secret weapon: Laying down a bunt against the shift. It is an easy way to get a hit, and get on-base. He begins every year saying he will bunt more against the shift, and every year it seems he does not use it enough. There are hits to be had by bunting against the shift, and maybe this is the season Belt uses that approach even more.
And, maybe this is the season Belt remains healthy.
Trevor Gott has really pitched well this spring. Gott possesses a power fastball, and complements this with a curveball.
Gott was claimed off of waivers just last month, and is out of options. At the time, it seemed like Farhan Zaidi would claim him as a way to get him in to the organization and try to sneak him through waivers to build organizational inventory.
However, Gott has made a solid case to make the opening day roster. Keeping him is easier said than done as the Giants bullpen is flush with options.
Gott has recorded 11 strikeouts in 8.2 innings while yielding no runs. This includes an extra inning game in which he came in with the runner starting the inning at 2nd base, and did not allow that runner to score.
Lastly, Steven Vogt has had a nice spring. He missed the 1st week of Spring Training as he continued to recover from shoulder surgery.
He still has not played an official Spring Training game behind the dish, but he has played a couple of minor league games at the position. He should get some time at catcher within the next week. He was brought in to be a catcher, so this is an important step in his rehab process.
With that being said, the shoulder does not seem to be affecting his hitting. In a very small sample of 12 at-bats, Vogt has done quite a bit of damage. He has 6 hits and 2 RBI as well as 2 walks. These are all positive signs for a player who underwent shoulder surgery in the past year.
The San Francisco Giants have added a lot of left-handed relievers this spring and Steven Okert‘s chances of making the roster seemed like a long-shot despite being on the 40-man roster. He is out of options, so the Giants will need to make a decision on him.
He has made it a bit of an easy decision as he has struggled mightily. In 7 innings of work, Okert has posted a 6.43 ERA. He has struck out 9 batters, but struggled with his command as he has given away 4 free passes.
Like Okert, Pat Venditte is another reliever who has struggled. The Giants signed Venditte early this offseason, and part of his appeal was that he has one option remaining. It seems the San Francisco Giants will use that roster flexibility:
Venditte had a couple scoreless appearances earlier this spring, but he has struggled since then. In only 5.2 innings of work, Venditte has posted a 11.12 ERA.
He will start the season in Sacramento, but Venditte will really need to pitch well to earn a promotion. He is on the older side, and does not have the track record that would inspire a promotion.
Lastly, Pablo Sandoval has struggled a bit at the wrong time. Sandoval will likely make the Giants roster, but there could be an odd roster dynamic between him, Alen Hanson, and Yangervis Solarte. Sandoval happens to be the least versatile of the utility infielders.
So far, Sandoval is batting .242 with a .628 OPS. As a veteran, his performance does not put his roster spot in jeopardy. However, if this performance bleeds over in to the season, then the questions will begin as to how he fits on to the roster.
At this point in the spring, the rosters are beginning to thin out. Camp battles continue to take place. And, the hard decisions will likely be made closer to the start of the season. The Giants will have a number of tough decisions to make at that time.