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SF Giants: 3 trends that have been concerning through the first month

By Kyle Foster |
San Francisco Giants v Houston Astros
San Francisco Giants v Houston Astros / Carmen Mandato/GettyImages
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The old saying is that a team can’t win their division in the first few months of the season. But they sure can lose it in that period. The SF Giants posted a rough 11-16 record in the first month of the season and there were some concerning trends that went with it.

SF Giants: 3 trends that have been concerning through the first month

But it is enough time to at least get a feel of what the team’s strengths and weaknesses are. That being said, there are definitely a few things that the Giants have not been impressing me with. So let’s take a look at three of them because there are certainly a few. 

1. The approach at the plate

Sure, this team has hit plenty of long balls so far this season. This is something that is bound to continue as the season goes on. However, it’s too much of a do-or-die approach to scoring runs. 

Part of the reason why this is such a red flag is that there hasn’t been any other approach other than swinging for the fences three times every at-bat which means they aren’t shortening up and trying to put the ball in the play either. Stringing hits together is how the game has always been played and that is how a team wins in the postseason as well. 

So far this season, they have hit a total of 51 long balls. That is good for third in the Majors and second in the National League. On the flip side, they are also striking out more than desirable as they lead the league with an astounding 325 strikeouts in 31 games. That means they are striking out almost 11 times a game. A team only gets outs in a game and to blow 11 of them by way of a strikeout is going to make it hard to win since you’re giving up 30% of your outs on a strikeout because that team has the wrong approach. 

The MLB is a homer-or-bust league and strikeouts are going to happen. It’s just part of today’s game. As a team, they’re hitting just .240, which puts them in the back half of the league in that category. 

While the long ball is fun to see, there is plenty of room to improve in other areas of the offense, especially when it comes to situational hitting. 

New York Mets v San Francisco Giants
New York Mets v San Francisco Giants / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages

SF Giants: 3 trends that have been concerning through the first month

2. The bullpen

This one shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone after the first month of the season. The Giants have had the lead in so many games, only to lose them when the bullpen takes over. 

Because of the lack of a bullpen that can win a game, the Giants' record doesn’t reflect how close the games have been. But the bullpen is the difference between a good team that wins those games and a bad team that loses those types of games.

That’s not to say there haven’t been some arms in the pen that haven’t been good. However, the only people that I trust to secure a win are Camilo Doval and John Brebbia. Other than that, Taylor and Tyler Rogers, Sean Hjelle, Scott Alexander, Jacob Junis, Sean Manea, and Ross Stripling have been less than impressive. 

So far this season, the Giants have a 6.04 bullpen ERA. That is the third-worst in all of baseball and the worst in the National League. That basically means relievers are coming in and dumping gasoline on the offense. 

There is no doubt that the bullpen will need to be better if the Giants hope to win some close games. 

San Francisco Giants v Houston Astros
San Francisco Giants v Houston Astros / Carmen Mandato/GettyImages

SF Giants: 3 trends that have been concerning through the first month

3. The managing

I realize some of the moves made are analytics-based. I also realize there are times when a move has to be made. 

It also makes sense that early in the season teams have to manage their arms. With all that being said, Gabe Kapler has some room to improve as a skipper. 

One of those areas he has to get better is letting starting pitchers go longer. The main reasons for this are it gives the bullpen less of a chance to blow the game and it shows the starter that the team has some confidence in them. The bottom line is a starter going five or fewer innings doesn’t do any favors to the bullpen as the season goes on. It doesn’t make sense when you realize that the starters are far from a weakness for the club as well. 

Another thing that would be encouraged is to play some small ball from time to time and manufacture some runs. With the larger bases and players capable of swiping bags, there’s no reason to not do this. This team won’t hit multiple home runs every game and the offense is going to go on cold spells as well. Manufacturing runs are a must. 

At the end of the day, all I want is a well-rounded team that can adjust based on the situation of the game. 

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