The exhibition part of MLB's schedule officially ended Tuesday, and the Giants have to fell pretty good about a lot of things that transpired in Arizona.
We saw the emergence of Casey Schmitt, who both impressed with the bat and the glove during the Cactus League. He's going to be in San Francisco sooner than later.
Rule 5 pick, Blake Sabol, also raked this spring, and has ensured his spot on the opening day roster. With Joey Bart's continual struggle to make consistent contact, Sabol could eventually find himself as a regular behind the plate. It will come down to how well he can handle the position, but that bat plays, and the Giants look intent on giving him a legitimate shot.
Another young guy who's had a quietly impressive spring is shortstop Will Wilson. The 24 year-old hit .321 with 2 home runs, 13 RBI and a robust 1.079 OPS. Much has been said about Brett Wisely and Isan Diaz as the next line of defense in the middle infield, but I think Wilson has to be looked at more seriously with how clutch he performed this March.
Those are just a few positives we saw transpire over the last six weeks, but I think the ultimate goal was to keep the big league roster as healthy as possible and they mostly accomplished that. Unfortunately Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater will open the year on the IL. Haniger looks like he'll be back by mid-April, but Slater's is a little more of a mystery.
With both Slater and Haniger starting on the shelf, it's opened the door for spring standout Bryce Johnson who led all of baseball in stolen bases this spring. Johnson had a brief stint with the big club last season and underwhelmed greatly at the plate, but he'll get another shot early on.
Other than Johnson likely cracking the opening day roster, there aren't really any other surprises. Here's a look at the group expected to head to New York for the opener on Thursday.
Catchers: Joey Bart, Roberto Perez, Blake Sabol
Infielders: LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada, Brandon Crawford, David Villar, J.D. Davis, Wilmer Flores
Outfielders: Michael Conforto, Mike Yastrzemski, Joc Pederson, Bryce Johnson
Starting Pitchers: Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, Anthony DeSclafini, Sean Manaea
Relievers: Camilo Doval, Taylor Rogers, Tyler Rogers, Scott Alexander, John Brebbia, Sean Hjelle, Jakob Junis
As for any last minute insights as to how this team will do this year, I think it's going to ultimately come down to how their players who didn't perform as well last year, or missed it all together, bounce back this year.
Conforto is at the top of that list. I'll make my preseason bold prediction and say he'll finish the season with some down MVP votes and make the NL all-star team. He's healthy, in shape and fully motivated to put the last couple years behind and earn himself a nine-figure deal next offseason. I think he'll do it.
Crawford and Haniger, the older vets in this lineup, have to be out there for 75-80 percent of games this year. No frequent or prolonged IL stints or nagging injuries that hamper their play for extended periods.
Yaz and Wade simply need to be closer to their 2021 form.
All of these scenarios are completely plausible, but hard to suggest based on all their performances last season. If they can get decent production out of those five players along with the steadiness that Pederson, Flores, Estrada and Davis should provide, then the offense will be surprisingly deep. I'm still not sure what to expect defensively but it has to improve over last year, right?
They have enough pitching depth that it should be their anchor all season. There is no Carlos Rodon paired with Logan Webb at the top of it but they have more depth than they did a year ago. Even if a couple starters don't pan out or get hurt, they have another handful of guys who they can call upon, including their top-prospect, Kyle Harrison. I'm not worried about that area of this team at all.
Their mid-relief has some questions, but the back-end of the bullpen should be elite with Doval and Taylor Rogers. They'll add another top-end arm to the mix in June when Luke Jackson joins the group.
Best-case record for 2023: 89-73, winning a wild card spot.
Worst-case: injuries mount and defense stays sub-par: 78-84.
My guess is they finish somewhere in-between. They're better than .500 but probably a couple games out of playoff contention: 84-78.
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