San Francisco Giants: 5 bold predictions for the second half of the season

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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 07: Evan Longoria #10 of the San Francisco Giants rounds the bases after hitting a home run off of Jack Flaherty #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh inning of their game at Oracle Park on July 07, 2019 in San Francisco, California. This was the first hit that Flaherty gave up in the game. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

With the All-Star break finally upon us and the MLB trade deadline drawing ever closer, now is the perfect time to look ahead at what’s to come for the San Francisco Giants.

With a 41-48 record, the San Francisco Giants entered the All-Star break 17.5 games back in the NL West and with eight teams to hurdle in the NL wild-card standings.

Despite that crowded field, they are still just 5.5 games back for a postseason spot, and they entered the break playing good baseball with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games.

The offense struggled for most of the first half before finally showing some signs of life at the beginning of July, while the starting rotation has been in a state of flux all season. The bullpen has been arguably the club’s biggest strength, but that could change with Will Smith, Tony Watson and Sam Dyson all looking like potential trade chips alongside Madison Bumgarner.

With a curious road ahead for manager Bruce Bochy and his team, we here at Around the Foghorn have put together five bold predictions for the second half of the year.

How will the 2019 season play out or the San Francisco Giants?

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 02: San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy is seen in the dugout during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at AT&T Park on September 2, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Mets defeated the Giants 4-1.(Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images) /

Manager Bruce Bochy will get to 2,000 career wins

Bruce Bochy will go down as one of the best managers the game of baseball has ever seen when he calls it a career at the end of the 2019 season.

However, his final year at the helm cannot be one that is completely lost if he intends to hit a major managerial milestone.

While Bochy has already eclipsed 1,000 career wins with the franchise, he is very close to reaching 2,000 total wins as a manager.

He currently sits at 1,967 career wins over the course of his 25-year managerial career. With 73 games left on the schedule, the San Francisco Giants would need to go 33-40 the rest of the way for him to reach the 2,000 mark.

That equates to a .452 winning percentage over their remaining games, which is actually a touch below their .461 winning percentage so far this season. Still, playing at that level in the second half won’t be easy.

If the front office decides to sell at the trade deadline as many expect, they could part ways with some of their best players, including starter Madison Bumgarner and relievers Will Smith, Tony Watson, and Sam Dyson. Without a true ace or a proven late-inning relief core, a late-season collapse could be tough to avoid.

Still, there’s enough remaining talent both on the MLB roster and waiting in the wings for an opportunity to think the milestone can be reached.

With 33 more wins, Bochy would become the 11th manager in MLB history to reach 2,000 wins, cementing a Hall of Fame resume that already includes three World Series titles.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 06: Austin Slater #53 of the San Francisco Giants is congratulated by third base coach Ron Wotus #23 as he rounds the bases after he hit a pinch-hit grand slam home run against Miles Mikolas #39 of the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth inning at Oracle Park on July 06, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Austin Slater has played his last game with the Sacramento River Cats

Barring any future rehab assignments, Austin Slater is finished honing his craft at the minor league level.

The 26-year-old did not start the season on the MLB roster. Instead, he headed to Triple-A Sacramento where he continued to tweak his swing to get more loft and drive the ball with authority more consistently.

He also worked to improve his defensive versatility, playing all over the diamond to make him a more attractive fit on the MLB roster. Now, with a team president in place who places significant value on that versatility, Slater has finally found a home on the 25-man roster.

After hitting .308/.436/.529 with 17 doubles and 12 home runs in 296 plate appearances at Triple-A, he’s posted a .429/.500/1.143 with two home runs and nine RBIs in five games since earning his first MLB call-up of the year on July 1.

Even though that’s an extremely small sample size, it’s enough to believe he may have already solidified his spot on the roster or the rest of the season.

The original motivation behind promoting Slater seemed to be the fact that the Giants were set to face three consecutive left-handed starters in a series with the San Diego Padres, and Slater had always hit well against left-handed pitching.

However, he’s quickly proven to be more than just a platoon option. He took Padres right-handed reliever Phil Maton in his 2019 debut and then he hit a grand slam off St. Louis Cardinals right-handed starter Miles Mikolas a few days later.

While he’s been used exclusively in the outfield so far, it’s inevitable with future roster moves approaching that he’ll eventually see some time on the infield dirt.

It doesn’t look like the Sacramento River Cats will be getting their hard-hitting utility man back any time soon.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 15: Evan Longoria #10 and Pablo Sandoval #48 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 in a Major League Baseball game at Oracle Park on May 15, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Three San Francisco Giants players will reach 20 home runs

The San Francisco Giants rank 27th in the majors this season with 88 home runs as a team.

However, they have hit 12 home runs in six games in July, and it was starting to look like a switch may have finally flipped in the heads of some of the team’s hitters heading into the All-Star break.

Heading into the second half, there are four players who appear to have a legitimate shot at reaching 20 home runs on the year—Evan Longoria (12), Kevin Pillar (12), Pablo Sandoval (11), and Brandon Belt (10).

While there is always the possibility of a bad slump or an injury, these four guys and maybe even late-surging Alex Dickerson (6) could all conceivably reach 20 long balls this year.

The updated Steamer projections from FanGraphs have Longoria (21) as the only San Francisco Giants player on pace to reach 20 homers. Belt (19) and Pillar (19) both fall just short, while Sandoval (15) falls well short since the system takes into account the fact that he’s not an everyday player.

It’s fitting that Belt is projected for 19 home runs since he’s still searching for the first 20-homer season of his career. He’s reached his career-high of 18 twice and he’s averaged 16 per year over the past six seasons. Coming up short has often been a result of injuries, and he’s managed to stay healthy so far this year. Still, history is not on his side, and we’ll say he comes up short again in 2019.

Meanwhile, while Longoria and Sandoval are no strangers to a 20-homer season, it would be the first of Pillar’s career. If Sandoval sees an increase in playing time at the corner infield spots and Pillar continues to be an everyday player in the outfield, I believe that trip will all reach 20 homers.

This doesn’t mean the Giants will suddenly be one of the best power-hitting teams in baseball, but for a club that hasn’t had a 20+ home run hitter since Brandon Crawford in 2015, it would be a welcome change of pace.

DENVER, CO – JUNE 16: Starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija #29 of the San Francisco Giants throws in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 16, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Jeff Samardzija will be the San Francisco Giants hottest pitcher

This may seem like one of the bolder predictions on the surface, but it’s not impossible by any means.

The San Francisco Giants gave Jeff Samardzija a massive five-year, $90 million deal prior to the 2016 season, an aside from a passable first year with the team, that contract has largely been a disappointment.

So far, the 2019 season as a whole has been no exception. The 34-year-old has a 4.01 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 98.2 innings over 18 starts.

However, Samardzija has looked exceptionally good of late. In fact, his last two starts have been among the best by a Giants pitcher all season.

Take a look:

July 1 @SD: W, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
July 7 vs. STL: W, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 HB, 2K

While the low strikeout total gives some reason for pause, back-to-back quality starts against teams that are currently in wild-card contention shows a lot of promise.

With a 3.25 ERA in August and September during his time with the Giants, Samardzija has a history of turning it on at the end of the season, and these last two starts could be the start of him kicking things into gear for a late-season run.

Madison Bumgarner will most likely be playing elsewhere by Aug. 1, Johnny Cueto won’t return until September if he returns at all this year, and the team’s young arms have shown flashes but also been inconsistent.

When you take all of that into account, the idea of Samardzija being the team’s best starter in the second half starts to make sense. He will also be in an important role serving as the veteran leader in a young stable of starters.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 05: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates their 3-0 victory over the New York Mets in the locker room after their National League Wild Card game at Citi Field on October 5, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco Giants will push for a Wild Card berth

Few viewed the San Francisco Giants as contenders at the start of the 2019 season, and they entered the All-Star break sitting at the bottom of the NL West standings

However, they are just 5.5 games back for the second NL wild-card spot, so a second-half push is not completely out of the realm of possibility.

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, the next two weeks for the Giants are going to be the most important of the year. During this upcoming stretch, the front office will need to assess the current state of the team and decide if a postseason push is not only realistic, but viable within the team’s long-term plans.

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If they continue on at a .500 during that time, it will be hard to convince the fan base that right move is to hold their pieces and push toward October. However, with continued July success, it’s not out of the question to think the team stands pat or even looks to add pieces.

To that point, team president Farhan Zaidi recently told reporters (via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle): “I still think there could be opportunities for us to trade away younger players for guys who can help us now. I wouldn’t rule that out.”

While Zaidi may be putting on a poker face in order to garner a better return of prospects at the deadline, there could also be some truth behind the statement.

If contenders are willing to meet a high asking price for Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith, I find it very unlikely that the Giants would turn down the opportunity to flip the upcoming free agents and bolster a thin farm system.

On the other hand, the team could stand pat on those players if the offers are not to their liking, opting instead for a full-throttle push toward the postseason.

Even if they do lose some key pieces, the Giants have always had a “next man up” mentality, and trading away Bumgarner and Smith could wind up creating opportunities for guys like Dereck Rodriguez and Double-A flame-thrower Melvin Adon. Those young players will be motivated to prove themselves, and they too could help the club in a wild-card push.

There is always the possibility too that the Giants take the same path as the 2016 New York Yankees, who had a chance to contend but decided instead to sell for the future.

At the end of the day, Zaidi has made it very clear from Day 1 that this team wants to compete, and if they get within a couple of games of a wild-card spot, I believe that they will approach the deadline with every intention of doing so.

Next. ATF's Midseason Top 30 Prospects (Nos. 10-1)

There you have it, five bold predictions for the San Francisco Giants in the second half. Things get rolling again on Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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