MLB Season Preview - San Francisco Giants

2016 Record: 87-75	Manager: Bruce Bochy (2006)
2nd in Division	General Manager: Bobby Evans (2015)
Beat the Mets in the N.L. Wild Card Game Lost to the Cubs in the NLDS 3-1	AAA Affiliate: Sacramento River Cats AA Affiliate: Richmond Flying Squirrels

News

• Traded P Chris Heston to Seattle for a player to be named later

Players Lost in the Offseason

POS.	Player	New Team	Contract
RP	Santiago Casilla	Oakland Athletics	2 years, $11 million
RP	Sergio Romo	Los Angeles Dodgers	1 year, $3 million
RP	Joe Nathan	Washington Nationals	1 year, $1.25 million
RF	Gregor Blanco	Arizona Diamondbacks	1 year, $1 million
SP	Jake Peavy	Free Agent
LF	Angel Pagan	Free Agent

Incoming Free Agents

POS.	Player	Old Team	Contract
RP	Mark Melancon	Washington Nationals	4 years, $62 million
3B	Aaron Hill	Boston Red Sox	1 year, $2 million
C	Nick Hundley	Colorado Rockies	1 year, $2 million
RP	David Hernandez	Philadelphia Phillies	1 year, $1.5 million
RP	Bryan Morris	Miami Marlins	1 year, $1.25 million

Top Prospects

• RHP Tyler Beede - MLB.com (88), BA (89)
• INF Christian Arroyo - MLB.com (89)

Projected Lineup

Order	POS	Number	Bats	Name	Age
1	CF	2	L	Denard Span	33
2	1B	9	L	Brandon Belt	28
3	C	28	R	Buster Posey	30
4	RF	8	R	Hunter Pence	33
5	SS	35	L	Brandon Crawford	30
6	3B	10	R	Eduardo Nunez	29
7	2B	12	L	Joe Panik	26
8	LF	6	L	Jarrett Parker	28
Bench	C	5	R	Nick Hundley	33
Bench	3B/1B	21	L	Conor Gillaspie	29
Bench	IF	-	R	Jae-gyun Hwang	29
Bench	OF	66	R	Gorkys Hernandez	29
Bench	OF	51	R	Mac Williamson	26

Projected Pitching Staff

Role	POS	Number	Throws	Name	Age
1	SP	40	L	Madison Bumgarner	27
2	SP	47	R	Johnny Cueto	31
3	SP	29	R	Jeff Samardzija	32
4	SP	45	L	Matt Moore	27
5	SP	18	R	Matt Cain	32
LR	RP	70	R	George Contos	31
MID	RP	62	R	Cory Gearrin	30
MID	RP	48	L	Steven Okert	25
MID	RP	64	R	Derek Law	26
SU	RP	13	L	Will Smith	27
SU	RP	70	R	Hunter Strickland	28
CL	RP	41	R	Mark Melancon	32

Most Important Player

• C Buster Posey - Posey is widely considered to be the best at his position in the game and there probably aren't any real close competitors at this point.  He has earned N.L. MVP votes every season since 2012 and won his first Gold Glove last season.  He is regularly a .300 hitter and gets on-base at around a .400 clip.  He is also quite productive, driving in at least 80 runs each of the past three seasons and doesn't take many days off, having appeared in at least 145 games every year since 2012.  He has begun appearing at first base in recent seasons and that should help keep him on the field consistently as he continues to age.  He is the Giants' best offensive player and bats in the heart of the team's lineup and has been at the heart of the team's success since they began winning World Series in 2010.

Breakout Candidate

• LF Jarrett Parker - 2017 will be Parker's third season in the majors but will finally get the opportunity to be a regular big league player this season.  His first season in 2015 he batted .347 in 21 games but this regressed to just a .236 average across 63 games last season.  He is a left-handed batter and could find himself hitting in a platoon in left field helping to drive his production.  I trust what the Giants do and think that Parker could play a vital role in the team's lineup.

Regression Candidate

• None - Because of how consistent Giants' players are I don't think that there are any real regression candidates.

Bounceback Candidate

• RF Hunter Pence - Before the last two seasons, Pence played in 162 games in each of the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  In fact, he has played in at least 150 games seven of his ten seasons and it seems like there is a good chance that he will bounce back to being healthy in 2017.  He has also always been a productive hitter as he has a lifetime .284 batting average and can be counted on for at least 70 RBIs when he plays a full season.  Pence bats behind Posey and in front of Brandon Crawford so he should see plenty of good pitches.

Season Outlook

• The Giants underperformed in 2016 considering it seemed like a foregone conclusion that they would win the World Series since it was an even year.  They still made the playoffs but lost to the eventual World Series winner, the Chicago Cubs, in the NLDS.  They struggled at the back end of their rotation and their bullpen was abysmal, blowing the most saves in baseball.  They appear to have addressed their problems by signing Mark Melancon, one of the most consistent closers in the game and by having Matt Moore in their rotation, who they traded for at the trade deadline last season.  They still have a question mark in their rotation, with Matt Cain as their fifth starter and he has struggled in recent seasons.  If he doesn't bounce back at the beginning of the year, Regardless of how the the back end of the rotation plays out, the Giants do have Madison Bumgarner, one of the best in the game, as their ace and Johnny Cueto, who pitched excellently in his first season with the team.  I think that there is a good chance that they acquire a depth starter right away.  The Giants should be one of the best teams in the National League this season and compete with the Dodgers for the divisional crown.

Predictions

• I predict that the Giants will go 88-74 this season, finishing second in the division and earn the first Wild Card spot in the National League.

*All stats and information came from baseball-reference.com, mlb.com, espn.com, spotrac.com, fangraphs.com, baseballprospectus.com, baseballamerica.com, and rosterresource.com