2022 San Francisco Giants Profile & Projection
Apr 5, 2022, 10:05 AM | Updated: Apr 8, 2022, 9:32 am
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
When viewing the history of the San Francisco Giants, the year 2021 will be one that will be fondly remembered.
Sure, the Giants didn’t win the World Series. Yes, they fell in tragic fashion during Game 5 of the National League Division Series to the hated rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Although San Francisco was unable to claim its fourth World Series title since 2010, they established a franchise record by posting an eye-popping 107-55 record in 2021, topping the previous best of 106 wins (1904 New York Giants).
On Opening Day last April, baseball projection tool PECOTA had the Giants projected to finish the season 77-85.
Whoops.
As we prepare to enter another spring and summer of Giants baseball, let’s take a look at how the roster is shaping up for Opening Day:
Who’s In?
DH/OF Joc Pederson – 1 year, $6 million
Pederson, a familiar face from his time with the Dodgers, inked a one-year deal with the Giants in March.
The Palo Alto native is fresh off of back-to-back World Series titles with the Dodgers in 2020 and the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
With the designated hitter finally being implemented in the National League, Pederson will benefit by getting everyday reps at the DH spot while occasionally filling in at any of the outfield spots.
Over 142 career plate appearances at Oracle Park, Pederson slashed .268/.362/.537 with seven home runs and 18 RBI.
SP, Carlos Rodón – 2 years, $44 million
As San Francisco’s largest signing of the offseason, Rodón will bring a solid left-handed presence to the starting rotation.
The 2021 All-Star posted a 13-5 record with a 2.37 ERA while striking out 185 batters over 132.2 innings for the Chicago White Sox last season.
Rodón will give the Giants a legit number-two starter to slide behind budding ace Logan Webb, forming a one-two punch atop the rotation that is both right and left-handed.
When Rodón is on, he has the stuff to be a Cy Young contender, as the 29-year-old was the American League frontrunner for most of the 2021 season until being sidelined by shoulder soreness. Still, the lefty finished fifth in the Cy Young award voting.
SP, Alex Cobb – 2 years, $20 million
San Francisco brought in the veteran Cobb as they look to provide the bottom of the rotation with some stability.
Cobb, 34, is a 10-year veteran that had a solid bounce-back season in 2021 while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels after struggling for the better parts of the past five seasons.
Over 18 starts, the right-hander went 8-3 with a 3.76 ERA while striking out 98 batters over 93.1 innings pitched.
Who’s Out?
When looking at the current roster, the absence of Buster Posey jumps off of the page.
Posey announced his retirement following an impressive All-Star campaign in 2021 that saw the 34-year-old rediscover his MVP-form, as the catcher batted .304 while hitting 18 home runs (his most since the 2015 season) and driving in 56 runs.
Another glaring hole in the Giants lineup will be the one that Kris Bryant left behind as the versatile utility-man signed a massive contract with the Colorado Rockies.
Kevin Gausman, last season’s breakout success story in the rotation, signed a five-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Gausman finished sixth–right behind new Giants starter Carlos Rodón–in the National League Cy Young award voting.
Donovan Solano, a Silver Slugger award winner for San Francisco in 2020, is now with the Cincinnati Reds, while outfielder Alex Dickerson replaced Joc Pederson in Atlanta.
Johnny Cueto, a Giant for the past six seasons, inked a minor-league deal with the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
Projected Lineup
RF – Mike Yastrzemski
SS – Brandon Crawford
1B – Brandon Belt
DH – Darin Ruf
LF – Joc Pederson
3B – Wilmer Flores
2B – Thairo Estrada
CF – Steven Duggar
C – Joey Bart
Bench
C – Curt Casali
INF – Luke Williams
OF – Austin Slater
UTIL – Mauricio Dubon
Rotation
RHP – Logan Webb
LHP – Carlos Rodón
RHP – Anthony DeSclafani
LHP – Alex Wood
RHP – Alex Cobb
Bullpen
RHP – Tyler Beede
RHP – John Brebbia
LHP – José Álvarez
RHP – Alex Littell
LHP – Jarlin Garcia
RHP – Dominic Leone
RHP – Tyler Rogers
LHP – Sammy Long
RHP – Camilo Doval
LHP – Jake McGee
Injured List
1B/OF – LaMonte Wade Jr. (knee inflammation)
3B – Evan Longoria (finger ligament repair)
LHP – Matthew Boyd (flexor tendon surgery)
2B – Tommy La Stella – (Achilles inflammation)
Batters to watch
The Brandons–Belt and Crawford.
Brandon Belt was on track for his second-career All-Star performance before going down with a knee injury in late June. Upon returning from injury, the 33-year-old finished the season with a career-high 29 home runs over just 97 games.
Just a week before postseason play, Belt fractured his left thumb on a bunt attempt and was lost for the postseason. In free agency, the first baseman bet on himself by accepting the one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer instead of looking for a multi-year deal elsewhere.
If Belt wants to increase his stay in the orange and black, it will be contingent on his performance in 2022.
The greatest shortstop in franchise history continued to add to his glowing resume during the 2021 season.
Brandon Crawford was handed a two-year extension last summer following his third-career All-Star performance, ensuring that the slick-fielding fan-favorite will remain in the Bay until the end of the 2023 season.
Not only did the four-time Gold Glover post his highest fielding percentage (.983) since 2016, he also established career-highs in home runs (24), batting average (.298), RBI (90), stolen bases (11), and OPS (.895).
With Posey and Bryant gone, it’s imperative that Belt and Crawford continue to provide the offense with a similar punch in 2022.
Pitchers to watch
Logan Webb will look to fully establish himself as a budding star in 2022.
Over 26 starts in 2021, the 25-year-old went 11-3 while establishing a 3.03 ERA and striking out 158 batters over 148.1 innings pitched.
While the right-hander’s regular season was impressive, Webb delivered electrifying performances in a hard-fought five-game National League Division Series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
In Game 1 of the series on October 8th, Webb shut down a stacked Dodgers lineup as he struck out 10 batters over 7.2 scoreless innings. Less than a week later on, Webb struck out seven and allowed just one run over seven innings during the decisive Game 5 on October 14.
The Rocklin High School alumnus finished the postseason with a 0.61 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 14.1 innings pitched.
Another pitcher to keep your eye on: relief pitcher Camilo Doval.
Over 29 appearances in 2021, the then-rookie struck out 37 batters over 27 innings. Doval has devastating stuff, possessing a four-seam fastball and a cutter that can top out near 100 miles per hour to go along with a nasty slider.
At only 24-years-old, expect Doval to get plenty of looks in late innings as the Giants mold the righty into a potential long-term closer.
Projection
FanGraphs has the San Francisco Giants finishing the 2022 season with a record of 85-77.
This projection has the Giants finishing in third-place in the National League West behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (94-68) and San Diego Padres (89-73).
Seeing that Major League Baseball expanded the postseason from eight teams to 12 beginning this season, an 85-77 finish would put San Francisco in the seventh spot in the National League standings–just one spot out of playoff contention.
Over/Under – 85.5 wins
I’m going over.
The Giants lost some bats, but to me, they still have an offense that can get them to the posteason.
Once San Francisco gets LaMonte Wade Jr. and Evan Longoria back from injury, the lineup will have legit threats in spots one-through-nine.
If Webb and Rodón can form a solid one-two punch atop the rotation and the bullpen can be better than last season, I think that this team can prove the naysayers wrong once again.
Let’s play ball.
