The Giants Baseball Blog

 The question at the forefront of the baseball world for the last couple months finally came to resolution over the weekend and it was a double gut punch for Giants fans. Shohei Ohtani will not become that superstar the Giants franchise has so desperately been in search of for the better part of the last decade. Instead of the Giants, Blue Jays, Cubs and Angels, Ohtani chose to sign a record breaking, 10-year deal worth $700 million with Dodgers. Which should have been a surprise to absolutely nobody. Now, being a Giants fan, I held out a glimmer of hope that Shohei may want to challenge himself. Come up to the Bay Area and try to bring the Giants back to where they were in the early 2010's. But at the end of the day, we know his number one priority was winning, and the Giants just have not done enough of it over the last couple seasons. Farhan and the front office is taking the flack for this miss, and rightfully so, but not for underbidding for Shohei. He probably offered as much

 We're officially two weeks away from the MLB trade deadline and Farhan Zaidi and company will have some tough decisions between now and then. The Giants have gotten back to their winning ways lately, sweeping the Pirates over the weekend after they won their last two heading into the all-star break. They're back over 10 games above .500 and at the moment definitely look like legit playoff contender. Now the only question surrounds how aggressive they plan to be during these next couple of weeks. One of the areas that needs the most help right now is the middle infield. They're hoping Thairo Estrada returns in a couple weeks, but even if he does return and bounces back to his early first half form, this team could still use some depth up the middle. Brandon Crawford has bounced back modestly after a horrendous first couple of months, but he's still barely hitting over .200 and is entering the second half of his age-36 season. Having someone who can help shoulder some of

We're mid-way through June and we've already seen about a season's worth of injuries run through the Giants' clubhouse. However, as the injuries keep popping up, the Giants keep on persevering. Just to give you an idea of how bad it's been healthy wise, the only positional guys who have not hit the injured list or have missed games in bulk this season have been LaMonte Wade Jr. and J.D. Davis. The latter, however, has now missed most of the last week with an ankle sprain. You never like to see players hit the IL, but the reality is, it's part of the game. You have to find a silver lining. That silver lining in the Giants' case this year is that it has prompted the rookies onto the roster, and they have been a driving force in the team's success since mid-May. Luis Matos is the latest top prospect to make his way onto the big league roster, and while he's only appeared in a handful of games thus far, he looks like he could wind up being the most impac

 The Giants' quick trip to the mid-west didn't quite end the way they would have liked on Sunday in Milwaukee, but there are a few things they can feel good about as they head back home. Aside Alex Cobb's rough two innings to begin Sunday's finale vs. the Brewers and the defensive meltdown they had in Minnesota, pretty much every aspect of this road trip went well for the Giants.  San Francisco rode some impressive pitching and some timely clutch hitting to a solid 5-2 trip. They went up against the first place team in each the NL and AL Central, and they looked much better than both of them. The two things that really stood out to me and I'm sure all Giants fans, and two things that we have really seen prosper in the month of May have been the performance of this pitching staff and the emergence of some young guys who are impacting the way the team is playing. Ever since the arrival of Casey Schmitt on May 9th, this team has looked completely different. Then add on

After finally getting it going here in late April and winning five of their last six ballgames heading into the weekend, the Giants had a largely forgettable 2-game set with the Padres in Mexico City. They were out-slugged by San Diego in an offensive juggernaut on Saturday, then lost a game they'll tell you they probably should have held on to on Sunday. They had the late-inning lead but their two best relievers to date couldn't shut the door in the eighth. Not only did they lose the series, but they may have lost their starting center fielder for a little while. Just when it looks like the full lineup is back and healthy, Mike Yastrzemski came up limping after making a diving attempt on a shallow fly ball in the eighth inning. It didn't look good either as Yaz limped off the field and it looks like an IL stint is almost certain. You see something like that and you immediately think hamstring but I don't want to speculate. For the Giants' sake, let's hope it wa

 After an overall tough weekend in New York with the Yankees, the Giants really got their offense kick-started in game one against the White Sox on Monday. It's taken a few games to get there, but we saw much of what Farhan Zaidi and Gabe Kapler envisioned with this offense. Things got off a bit of a slow start, as Michael Kopech struck out three of the first four batters he saw. After that, however, it was all San Francisco. Joc Pederson got the party started with the a solo shot in the second, then Roberto Perez laced an RBI single to left later on in the inning. The Giants never looked back after that. Most of this team was pressing coming into this series, but a few key guys who really needed to get going did just that. Michael Conforto, who had a forgettable return to the big apple over the weekend, connected for his first long ball and first multi-hit game with his new club. David Villar, who has Casey Schmitt breathing down his neck, launched two balls deep into the left fie

 The Giants opened their 2023 season on Thursday in New York and it can't come as much of a surprise as to how things turned out. Facing one of the best starting pitchers in the game on a cold day in the Bronx, you knew runs would be tough to come by and they were indeed. The Yankees beat the Giants 5-0 backed by a dominant outing from Gerrit Cole and a couple of clutch big flies. Logan Webb pretty much matched Cole pitch for pitch, but unfortunately for Webb, he was the one who had to face Aaron Judge. The guy who flirted with the idea of joining the Giants this winter, and actually was reportedly coming to San Francisco for a few minutes, fittingly homered in his first at-bat against them.  Webb really made just two mistakes all afternoon and both ended up leaving the ballpark. Judge's blast to center, then Gleyber Torres just back-spun a ball over the short porch in right field to make the game 3-0 in the fourth. Neither of those balls are laving the yard if this game is in

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

 Finally, after going division-by-division for the rest of the league, we end up with the NL West. Of course we all know about the big moves made by the Padres and the expectations there. The Dodgers didn't have as flashy of an offseason but they still are the division favorites in many people's eyes. The Giants, while not adding the stars they wanted, also improved and should be a better team than they were a year ago. The D-Backs are slowly creeping back into the picture, piling up young position playing talent and just waiting for their pitching to catch up. The Rockies are the only team in this division who don't have much of a shot at being a .500 ball club. First Place, San Diego Padres Lineup: 1. SS Xander Bogaerts 2. LF Juan Soto 3. 3B Manny Machado 4. RF Fernando Tatis* Jr. 5. 1B Jake Cronenworth 6. DH Matt Carpenter/Nelson Cruz 7. 2B Ha-Seong Kim 8. CF Trent Grisham 9. C Austin Nola Rotation/Closer: 1. RHP Yu Darvish 2. LHP Blake Snell 3. RHP Joe Musgrove* 4. RH

The NL Central again looks like the Cardinals' to lose. If the Brewers pitching staff is healthy though, they should absolutely push for a postseason spot. The Cubs did a lot this winter, but still lack the overall depth to really push for October this year. The Pirates and Reds each have some bright spots on their rosters but have a long way to go until they're legit competitors again. First Place, St. Louis Cardinals Lineup: 1. 2B Tommy Edman 2. C Wilson Contreras 3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt 4. 3B Nolan Arenado 5. LF Tyler O'Neil 6. RF Lars Nootbaar 7. 2B Brendan Donovan 8. DH Nolan Gorman 9. CF Dylan Carlson Rotation/Closer: 1. RHP Jack Flaherty 2. LHP Jordan Montgomery 3. RHP Adam Wainwright 4. RHP Miles Mikolas 5. LHP Stephen Matz CL: RHP Ryan Helsley The Cards lost their leader with Yadiar Molina retiring, but they did a pretty good job at replacing him behind the plate with Contreras. They have two MVP-candidates in the middle of their order and some young studs like No

 The NL East has three legit World Series contenders in which makes it the best division in baseball. Here's how we see this division breaking down over the year. First Place, Atlanta Braves Lineup:  1. RF Ronald Acuna 2. 1B Matt Olson 3. 3B Austin Riley 4. C Sean Murphy 5. CF Michael Harris 6. 2B Ozzie Albies 7. DH Marcel Ozuna 8. LF Eddie Rosario 9. SS Vaughn Grissom Rotation/Closer:  1. LHP Max Fried 2. RHP Charlie Morton 3. RHP Spencer Strider 4. RHP Kyle Wright 5. RHP Ian Anderson CL: RHP Raisel Inglesias The Braves did lose Dansby Swanson this winter, but added one of the better backstops in the game to help fill that void in the lineup. I also think Grissom is about to blossom as the next big Braves homegrown talent. Acuna has MVP potential at the top of the lineup and I think he's primed for a career year now fully healthy. Riley and Olson comprise one of the best corner infield duos in the game and Michael Harris is one of the best young hitters out there. This lineup

Most of the AL West improved this offseason and it should make this one of the better divisions in baseball. Houston again looks like the clear front-runners, but the Mariners look good after a postseason run last year. The Rangers finally have some pitching, and the Angels hope everyone can stay healthy and they can show Shohei they're ready to compete. First Place, Houston Astros Lineup: 1. 2B Jose Altuve 2. DH Michael Brantley 3. 3B Alex Bregman 4. LF Yordan Alvarez 5. 1B Jose Abreu 6. RF Kyle Tucker 7. SS Jeremy Pena 8. CF Chas McCormick 9. C Martin Maldonado Rotation/Closer: 1. LHP Framber Valdez 2. RHP Christian Javier 3. RHP Lance McCullers 4. RHP Luis Garcia 5. RHP Jose Urquidy CL: Ryan Pressly Baseball's reigning champions are back and primed for a run to repeat. The lineup looks even scarier now that Abreu's plugged into the middle of it. Watch for Pena to build off his big postseason and develop more consistency over the course of the regular season. McCormick

The AL Central looks pretty open. Not the best division in baseball, but they have a trio of teams that are capable of winning 90+ games if things go right.  The Guardians are the reigning division champs and made a couple moves this winter that strengthened them. The Twins had a really good offseason as well. The White Sox have more talent then both those teams but that talent did not translate in 2022.  Here's how we see this division breaking down in 2023: First Place, Cleveland Guardians Lineup: 1. LF Steven Kwan 2. 2B Andres Gimenez 3. 3B Jose Ramirez 4. DH Josh Bell 5. SS Ahmed Rosario 6. 1B Josh Naylor 7. RF Oscar Gonzalez 8. C Mike Zunino 9. CF Myles Straw Rotation/Closer: 1. RHP Shane Bieber 2. RHP Triston McKenzie 3. RHP Cal Quantrill 4. RHP Aaron Civale 5. RHP Zach Plesac CL: Emmanuel Clase The Guardians upgraded their lineup this winter with the addition of Josh Bell. They have a nice balance of proven bats mixed with players on the rise. Kwan looks like a potential b

 Spring training is cruising along quickly. We're over 10 games into the schedule now and the WBC is about to kick off this week.  With opening day quickly approaching, now just a little over three weeks out, I wanted to start a little overview of both leagues. With the balanced schedule this season, every team will play one another at some point so it's more important than ever to really know both leagues.  We'll start off in the AL East. Here's a glimpse at all teams in the division and a prediction as to how I think it will shape up for the 2023 season. First Place, Toronto Blue Jays Lineup: 1. LF George Springer 2. SS Bo Bichette 3. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 4. 3B Matt Chapman 5. DH Brandon Belt 6. C Alejandro Kirk 7. RF Daulton Varsho 8. 2B Whit Merrifield 9. CF Kevin Kiermaier Rotation/Closer: 1. RHP Alek Manoah 2. RHP Kevin Gausman 3 RHP Chris Bassitt 4. RHP Jose Berrios 5. LHP Yusei Kikuchi CL: RHP Jordan Romano The Blue Jays were a playoff team a year ago and

Baseball is back! Although it's only spring training, and these games don't have any impact on how this upcoming season will go, it still is an important stretch for the Giants. Most notably, this spring is about getting some of their upper-tier prospects a long look. It's also about getting guys like Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger, who didn't play much if at all in 2022, the work they need to be ready for the regular season. Two of the younger guys who stuck out this first weekend have been Casey Schmitt and Blake Sabol. Schmitt hit a no doubt rocket out to left center that almost cleared the berm where all the fans sit. He did it off a pretty established big league arm as well in Adrian Sampson. Then he turned around and made a few jaw-dropping plays on the defensive side. I know it's only one game and there is still a long way to go, but you can't help but get excited when you see a performance like that. Even the Giants' veterans were impressed with

 The Giants' pitchers and catchers have been in Scottsdale now for the better part of a week, and on Sunday, they were joined by the rest of the position players. So far things have been pretty quiet on the Giants' front. The biggest news to take out of the first week of spring are a couple of injuries that were disclosed, as well as possible position battle shaping up at catcher. First off let's get to the injuries. The concerning one was the news about Marco Luciano's stress fracture on his back. The organization's top positional prospect had his season cut short due to back injuries last year and was supposed to make up some of those missed at bats in Dominican winter league ball. Unfortunately that didn't go as planned, and the Giants are not clear on when they expect the 21 year-old to return to the diamond. As of now, he looks to be in danger of not only missing all of spring but maybe having the start of his minor league regular season delayed as well. My