3 biggest SF Giants disappointments from the first half of the season
![May 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4542,h_2554,x_0,y_182/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/40/01j1r9bxx2p7znz9z2tj.jpg)
Now past the halfway point of the season, the SF Giants currently are sitting in fourth place in the NL West with a 41-44 record. They are just a tad beyond the halfway point. After spending more money in the offseason than any team other than the Los Angeles Dodgers, that’s a discouraging run of mediocrity. Which three players have contributed most to the underperformance?
3 biggest SF Giants disappointments from the first half of the season
Baseball, as we all know, is a fickle game that’s not played on paper. Nothing ever happens quite the way you expect, and that includes individual players’ performances and development.
As a whole, the pitching staff has been the biggest disappointment this season with 4.50 ERA. That is the sixth-worst mark in baseball. The starting rotation and bullpen have shared the blame in terms of that performance.
However, the Giants knew that the rotation would be shaky in the first half of the season. Perhaps, they did not expect it to mirror the first half of last season where they had to rely heavily on bullpen games. Outside of Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks, and Kyle Harrison, the Giants have struggled to get any type of production from the rotation. They hope that the second half is more promising with the eventual return of a handful of starters, including Harrison.
1. Pitcher Blake Snell
Snell’s season has been an unmitigated disaster, and even his own fork-tongued agent Scott Boras would have a difficult time putting a positive spin on literally anything he has done. He has lasted just 23.2 innings over his six starts, getting shelled to the tune of a 9.51 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, and 5.32 BB/9.
The lefty pitcher missed all of Spring Training due to signing so late and has been using that as one of a litany of excuses for his poor play. It bears mentioning that Boras does hold some of the blame in Snell's performance. The superagent often waits out the market to secure the best deal possible. This time around, it backfired.
Snell signed a two-year, $62 million pact right before the season. This included a player option for the second season. At this point in time, there is a good chance that he exercises that player option. He has not just been the most disappointing player on the Giants, but arguably the most disappointing free-agent signing this past winter.
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3 biggest SF Giants disappointments from the first half of the season
2. Camilo Doval
There’s no denying Doval has an absolutely electric arm, but the elite closer he was over the last two seasons has not shown up yet. He has walked an alarming six batters per nine innings, when his previous career-high BB/9 was only 3.99.
The hard-throwing righty has only blown three saves in 17 chances, which is not terrible by any means, but his 4.41 ERA dwarfs the 2.73 ERA he compiled between 2022 and 2023. His worst outing of the season came in a non-save situation against the Los Angeles Angels on June 16th, where he gave up four hits and two walks while retiring just one batter.
His ERA skyrocketed from 3.62 to 4.88 after that, and he appeared to be pretty disgruntled about it. The 2023 All-Star is not in danger of losing the closer role after a couple of bad outings, but the ninth inning continues to be torturous when you see Doval coming out.
3. Thairo Estrada
Estrada broke out last season, flashing incredible defense and stealing a team-leading 23 bases on his way to 3.6 fWAR. His follow-up to that has been underwhelming so far, though. The most disappointing has been his on-base ability – at .264, he has basically been the anti-Wade.
Estrada's overall slash line of .231/.264/.376 has been 17 percent below league average, and that is even considering offense around the league has been suppressed this year. The top-of-the-lineup potential Estrada once had has eroded, and he is not even providing the club with much-needed baserunning value as he’s only stolen a single base so far.
The Giants could use much, much more from Estrada in general, but that is not going to happen soon as he just landed on the injured list last Friday due to a left wrist sprain. Tyler Fitzgerald was called up in his place, who is not a very enticing Plan B, so Melvin and company will be looking for Estrada to make a speedy recovery and shake off his rough first half.