SF Giants living up to preseason expectations in key offensive category

Prior to the start of the season, SF Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi speculated that power would be strength of the 2023 roster. With nearly one month down in the year, the Giants have lived up to expectations as they have blasted 38 home runs, which ranks as the fourth-best mark in baseball.

SF Giants living up to preseason expectations in key offensive category

Sure, they did not land the star hitter like Aaron Judge or Carlos Correa this past winter, but they did build a lineup that has some length to it. And, that is with power hitters like Joc Pederson and Mitch Haniger already spending time on the injured list.

Pederson, Haniger, and Michael Conforto have all notched 30-homer seasons in their respective careers. Haniger did it as recently as 2021 when he blasted 39 home runs. Plus, the Giants have another 30-homer hitter in Gary Sánchez on a minor league contract. He is currently with the Sacramento River Cats, but the 30-year-old catcher has an opt-out decision looming soon.

The teams currently ahead of the Giants in home runs are the Tampa Bay Rays (52), Los Angeles Dodgers (47), and the Atlanta Braves (41). The contrast in roster composition between these four teams is fascinating.

The Dodgers and Braves have the star talent with players like Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuña Jr., respectively. On the other hand, just about every player on the Rays can take you deep.

The Giants roster align more with the Rays in terms of composition. Not one player for San Francisco is off to an unusually hot start with J.D. Davis and Mike Yastrzemski leading the way with five home runs apiece. However, they have six hitters with at least four homers so far in 2023.

Only the Rays and Dodgers can say the same in the early going. That may be an arbitrary barometer, but it highlights the fact that the Giants' lineup has some length to it.

Even Brandon Crawford and David Villar have tallied three home runs each and they are both off to slow starts. Plus, it bears mentioning that one of their key offseason additions in Mitch Haniger has not yet hit his first home run in a Giants uniform as he just returned from the injured list.

The Giants have some power-hitting threats on their roster. None may be considered a star player, but the lineup, as a whole, has a lot of players who can do damage and that was something that Farhan Zaidi promised even before the season began.