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5 takeaways from the SF Giants weekend series against Washington

By Nathan Smith |
SF Giants, Joc Pederson
SF Giants, Joc Pederson / Greg Fiume/GettyImages
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After a disappointing series against the red-hot New York Mets, the SF Giants took to Washington for a weekend series against the Nationals, and after a three game sweep, it looks like the Giants are back in form.

5 takeaways from the SF Giants weekend series against Washington

While there was plenty of controversy surrounding unwritten rules, the Giants absolutely dominated Washington in every phase of the game, a good way to kick off a key week with a series against Oakland and again against Washington at home.

While the season is still young, and many things will change between now and the trade deadline and the playoffs, we can take some things away from every series, and here are five from the weekend sweep.

1. The SF Giants got the two best free-agent signings in Joc Pederson and Carlos Rodon

Many questioned the offseason the Giants had, missing out on several big names, but a few weeks into the 2022 campaign, it’s becoming more clear by the game that these two are absolute stars for San Francisco.

Pederson had himself a great weekend in Washington, and his average now sits at .364 early in the year, showing power as well as average, and if this continues, $6m for Joc may be the biggest steal in recent memory.

Rodon on the other hand has been everything he was advertised as (for good and bad), and while the good heavily outweighs the bad, he has been electric.

This was all on full display in Washington, and with the great bullpen behind Rodon, he’s exactly what the Giants need behind Logan Webb, so it’s safe to say that Farhan Zaidi had another masterclass in the 2022 offseason.

SF Giants, Joey Bart
SF Giants, Joey Bart / Jim McIsaac/GettyImages

5 takeaways from the SF Giants weekend series against Washington

2. Joey Bart is here to stay

While the young catcher isn’t putting up eye popping numbers, and is striking out at a huge rate, it’s clear that while no one can replace Buster Posey, Joey Bart is doing his best to try.

He was great in the first home stand, and while the offensive numbers have slowed down, Joey has been great behind the plate, and it’s clear that he’s the future of the Giants catching line.

This season will be a fun one all around, and if Joey Bart can become the player many within the organization expect him to, than this team could be a genuine World Series contender in 2022.

3. The SF Giants lineup is contributing 1-9

The SF Giants scored a whole lot of runs during this weekend sweep (to the point where Gabe Kapler had to defend himself and this team), and it’s coming from all over the lineup.

Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford and Belt, Darin Ruf, Wilmer Flores, Thairo Estrada and more are all producing, and while it’s not sustainable as guys will start to struggle, it proves how much depth and quality this team has.

Sure, the Washington pitching staff isn’t extraordinary in any capacity, but the Giants did what they needed to do, and if the team continues to hit, they will be a very scary proposition come October.

SF Giants, Tyler Rogers
SF Giants, Tyler Rogers / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages

5 takeaways from the SF Giants weekend series against Washington

4. The SF Giants bullpen was the best in baseball in 2021 and this year's bullpen looks to be even better

The bullpen has been the strength of the Giants for a long time during their successful periods, and while it was great in 2021, it’s even better to start 2022.

The Giants pitching staff leads the majors in ERA, and with all the pieces back from 2021 with more experience, this is likely going to be the best bullpen in baseball.

Closer Camilo Doval had a shaky start to the year, but since then, the team has been fantastic no matter who takes the ball out of the ‘pen, and if it continues, it will become incredibly hard for teams to score on the Giants at all.

5. Despite all the good, this SF Giants team needs to get healthy, ASAP

Alex Cobb, Anthony DeSclafani, Mike Yazstremski (Covid) and Steven Duggar are all going to be away from this team for the near future due to injury, and with LaMonte Wade Jr. and Tommy LaStella not yet back from injury, this could become a big problem.

The Giants pride themselves on depth, as there are several players at AA and AAA ready to make their mark at the big league level, but with so much talent, the Giants don’t want to deal with all these injuries again.

In the short term, the Giants will be fine, but if they have any hopes of going deep into October, the team needs to find a way to get healthy and stay that way.

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