Spring Preview: Nate Schierholtz, Brandon Crawford

Full workouts are in session for pitchers and catchers, and thing have gone pretty smoothly the first two days of camp, minus the news of the Ryan Vogelsong missing 10+ days with his strained back. Other than that though, things have been as you'd expect for the first couple days of spring so we'll continue with our player previews, which rounds out our starting lineup by the way, and save a section at the end for some Day 2 talk.

Brandon Belt, 1B - This has been changed as of 3/31/12 due to the fact that Belt will likely start the opener and play more than Schierholtz, forcing Huff to the outfield. Belt will likely hit higher in the order than this, as he'll probably hit behind Sandoval and Posey, but I just kept him here where I had Nate just to keep things easy. He could end up hitting 7th, but the Giants want him in the middle of the order, and I think he's finally figuring things out and it'll show this season.

2012 Prediction: 144 G, 502 AB's, .281 Avg, 25 HR, 79 RBI, 61 R, 36 2B, 10 SB, .341 OBP%, .514 SLG% (.855 OPS)

Brandon Crawford, SS - Here is the Giants wild-card to the 2012 season. If BC can at least get that average up to around .240-.250'ish, with that defense, he'll be a plus shortstop. He's got a little bit of pop, so he'll knock his share out of the yard and although he K's a lot, he can take a walk too, so he should sport at least a respectable OBP. The whole key to his season is getting off to good start, cause he's got Ryan Theriot breathing down his neck, a proven shortstop who Bruce Bochy won't hesitate to go to if the Giants need tinkering there. Normally, Sabean and Bochy seem to favor playing the average vet over the upside youngster when the youngster is struggling, but with BC, they seem to be giving him some rope. Still though, I'd expect to see Theriot out there on nights when lefties are throwing and guys like Matt Cain and Lincecum (fly-ball guys) are on the mound). I expect a better offensive showing from Crawford at the dish this season, but I still expect him to split time with Theriot, cutting into his ab's a bit.

2012 Prediction: 130 G, 415 AB's, .237, 8 HR, 37 RBI, 36 R, 19 2B, .309 OBP, .375 SLG% (.684 OPS)

Spring Notes: It was a relatively quiet day in Giants camp Monday. Brian Wilson announced he is pain-free, though the Giants still plan to take it slow with their star closer and keep him out of Cactus League play until mid-March. Also, found out a bit more about Zito's new delivery, it's supposed to give him better location and as I suspected, add a mile or two to his fastball, maybe more. You can pitch in the Bigs at 85 MPH, but you have to have complete command and have 2nd and 3rd pitches that you command as well, a big reason behind Greg Maddux's success. Still holding out hope Zito will turn it around, but if not, the Giants should continue looking into backup plans. They think they got one in 39 year-old Ramon Ortiz, another signing I really don't understand, especially when you could have gotten Brad Penny for the same thing? I mean, Penny had dominated in the NL the 2 years prior to his Boston letdown and he had to sign in Japan just recently because no team would offer. If the Giants gave him $1M, guaranteed he signs with them, especially since he already knows this area and has been a Giant. Also, with that arm, even if he didn't beat out Zito or Zito doesn't injure himself, he could be an excellent bullpen option. Another missed opportunity, chalked up with Cody Ross, another guy the Giants could have had for peanuts. Luckily, they did get one of the guys I wanted in Theriot, but he certainly wasn't my top choice heading into the winter!