Bullpen Preview, Plus Camp Notes

Alright, we've finally arrived at the last projection post we'll do until around opening day when the 25-man roster is actually announced. Also, again, we'll do sort of a double-post as there's been a lot going on in Giants camp with Cactus League a week away.

Bullpen Preview

Brian Wilson, RHP: The Giants bearded closer entered spring with some question marks surrounding the health of his right arm, but according to him and Giants trainers, he's around 100%, and even though he may not play a whole spring, he'll be bright and ready for April! I expect a rebound from Wilson this year, as he was another Giant who fell off a bit after the Championship run the year prior. I expect things to get back to normal and without all the media and Showtime productions around, it should get things back to how they were during the year in 2010. I don't see another 1.81 ERA, but that's the type of Wilson I expect!

2012 Prediction: 62 G, 5-3, 2.67 ERA, 63 IP, 44 saves, 72 K's, 27 BB's, 1.21 WHIP, .228 BAA

Sergio Romo, RHP: Much like Wilson, Romo enters the spring in cautionary state as he had some arm troubles at the end of the 2011 season. However, you won't find a more dominant set-up man in the game than Romo. Ever since the start of 2010 (minus a brief blunder in the playoffs), he's turned into this out-making machine. Last season was ridiculous as he walked just 5 batters and posted a 0.71 WHIP. While I expect those numbers to rise a bit, I still expect Romo to be All-Star caliber in the 8th inning.

2012 Prediction: 72 G, 4-1, 1.97 ERA, 65 IP, 32 holds, 78 K's, 14 BB's, 0.92 WHIP, .185 BAA

Javier Lopez, LHP: Lopez will again be that guy called upon to get the key lefty late in a ballgame, and as he's done his whole career, he'll again be proficient. He's been a rock since putting on the Giants uniform and has become one of the best left-handed specialist in baseball, who also gets righties!

2012 Prediction: 77 G, 2-2, 2.45 ERA, 56 IP, 23 holds, 46 K's, 22 BB's, 1.08 WHIP, .212 BAA

Santiago Casilla, RHP: The Giants have the pleasure of basically having two set-up men as Casilla can fill that job nearly as well as Romo does. He even filled in for Wilson very admirably as closer in September last season. Like with this whole bullpen, I don't expect a whole lot of change from the 2 prior years, and I feel the same with Casilla!

2012 Prediction: 58 G, 2-3, 2.21 ERA, 55 IP, 18 holds, 52 K's, 24 BB's, 1.20 WHIP, .205 BAA

Jeremy Affeldt, LHP: Now, I like Affeldt just like most Giants fans seem to, but I don't think he's worth the $5 million option the Giants exercised on him. I think they could have gotten him for 2 million cheaper had they declined the option, however, they also would have ran the risk of demeaning him a bit and having him walk on them. They apparently felt it was a gamble worth taking, and are hoping for another 2009 from from their quirky lefty.

2012 Prediction: 77 G, 4-5, 3.13 ERA, 68 IP, 13 holds, 64 K's, 28 BB's, 1.18 WHIP, .227 BAA

Guillermo Mota, RHP: One of the most underrated Giants relievers over the last few years has been another guy, like Lopez, who's been nails since putting on that Giants uniform. It's almost like it's given his career new life at 38! He's not quite as dominant as the other arms in the Giants pen, but still very dependable and has been a Swiss Army knife for this bullpen.

2012 Prediction: 50 G, 2-4, 3.99 ERA, 72 IP, 3 holds, 61 K's, 32 BB's, 1.31 WHIP, .252 BAA

Clay Hensley, RHP: Hensley enters the spring as the favorite for the last bullpen slot, however, if the Giants decide to start the year with 3 catchers, he could start the year in Fresno. Still, I expect him to be a part of the Giants bullpen for the better part of 2012, at the least. He was lights out in 2010 (2.16 ERA), but fell off miserably last season for the Marlins (5.19 ERA). I expect somewhere in between, plus. Also, due to the lack of starting pitching depth, I expect him to log a more than a few starts as he could become the newer, younger version of the bullpen's Guillermo Mota.

2012 Prediction: 59 G, 13 GS, 6-5, 4.06 ERA, 102 IP, 84 K's, 1.29 WHIP, .247 BAA

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Spring Notes: As I mentioned in his capsule, some of the good news to come out of camp Monday was that Brian Wilson was throwing at a high velocity and was displaying that he obviously feels and looks better than he did towards the end of 2011. He'll be 100% for opening day, baring any set-backs, but Freddy Sanchez is still being brought along much slower than Posey. He's been off on a side field just fielding some grounders and doing light throwing, and hasn't hit yet to my knowledge. We all knew Sanchez would miss some time this spring, but I was hoping he'd get to play in the majority of Cactus League games, just cause he hasn't played in so long and he needs the at-bats. Speaking of recovering players, Buster Posey faced a major league pitcher for the first time since his injury last May, and rocked Sergio Romo, who probably wasn't throwing at 100%, but it's still great to see Posey knocking the ball around the yard. He also got down in a squat after to catch Matt Cain's session. The Giants also apparently dodged a couple of bullets too, almost literally, as Matt Cain took a Hector Sanchez line drive off his right leg, but was declared fine. Cain also drilled Panda in the ribs with a slider that slipped, but Pablo also apparently escaped the beaning unscathed. And last but not least on our notes section, Ryan Vogelsong got back in action a little sooner than everyone was expecting, throwing on Monday and reporting a painless session. Good news certainly, though the Giants still could still hold their right-hander out of his first spring start.