One important lesson the SF Giants can take from remaining MLB playoff teams

The Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Los Angeles Dodgers are some of the best organizations as pitching development and acquisition. The development part has been on display in the playoffs, and it is one area where the SF Giants are lacking.

Sure, it is easy to highlight a few organizational areas where the Giants are lacking. However, pitching is paramount to their success, and was a major factor during their championship run. Not surprisingly, that quality has eroded in recent years.

Pitchers still often pitch better at Oracle Park. Robbie Ray was a great example of this. He had a 2.70 ERA in 12 starts at Oracle Park, but a 4.23 ERA in 19 appearances outside of San Francisco.

While the pitcher-friendly confines often help pitchers perform, the Giants are not necessarily helping pitchers improve. At least, that is the perception.

In March, Lance Brozdowksi of Lance's Pitcher Notes conducted a survey among major league coaches and executives. He asked which organizations were viewed as the best in pitching development and acquisition.

SF Giants rank near the bottom in pitching development and acquisition

Not surprisingly, the Dodgers led the way. While they are often recognized for their development across the board, player acquisition likely did the heavy lifting here. Their rotation features All-Stars and Cy Young winners, including Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They do not necessarily need to lean on development in the same way that other organizations do.

On the other hand, the Guardians, Rays, and Brewers need to be more strategic on the acquisition front. They cannot compete with a team like the Dodgers in free agency, so they often lean on trades, the draft, and minor signings.

Where these three teams excel at is pitching development. That can range from something as simple as changing arm slots or where a pitcher stands on the mound to improvements in pitch quality, mix, or velocity.

At the very least, the public perception of these teams is that they do well in pitching development and acquisition. A survey may not be the most substantial way to measure this, but that is the public perception. It is hard to argue with the results, as all four teams are competing to reach the World Series.

In the postseason, pitching is often paramount. It helps to have talent in the way that the Dodgers do, but as a team like the Brewers is proving, shrewd acquisitions and a forward-thinking approach can also lead to success.

This is one area where the Giants are lacking. They have been reluctant to hand out a nine-figure deal to a pitcher in free agency over the past decade, so they have pursued a more measured approach, but to mostly unfavorable results.

In that same survey, the Giants are viewed as one of the worst organizations in pitching development and acquisition. Again, this is the public perception of those within baseball.

It is hard to argue with those results when they have had few developmental wins in recent seasons, and they have struggled to recruit quality pitchers despite housing one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball.

In fairness, the Giants have tried to add pitching acumen to the organization. Pitching coach Justin Meccage came over from the Brewers farm system, whereas Christian Wonders previously worked in the Rays organization. That said, the pitching side of the coaching staff might be the most vulnerable area to turn over after a disastrous 97-loss season.

If the Giants want to be a team that relies on pitching and defense, then they will need to throw the ball better. That could start by changing the perception of their ability to acquire and develop pitching.

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