The even-year magic of the San Francisco Giants came to a crashing halt when they collapsed in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS against the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs. The Giants owned the best record in baseball before the All-Star break, but they went 30-42 over the course of the second half to concede the National League West title and their World Series hopes came to a sudden end shortly after they were forced to settle for a Wild Card spot. San Francisco attempted to address its bullpen issues with the addition of Mark Melancon in the offseason but did little else to upgrade a roster that might already have enough talent to contend for the World Series if its bullpen issues are corrected.
Key Additions: RP Mark Melancon, C Nick Hundley, 3B Jae-gyun Hwang
Key Losses: OF Gregor Blanco, OF Angel Pagan, SP Jake Peavy, RP Sergio Romo, RP Santiago Casilla, RP Chris Heston, SP Javier Lopez, IF Ehire Adrianza
Strengths
While San Francisco’s bullpen struggled last season, the starting rotation was relatively solid and should be good again this year. Madison Bumgarner is back to lead the way with Johnny Cueto, Matt Moore, Jeff Samardzija right behind him. The fifth spot is still up for grabs and the Giants have some decent options in Ty Blach and Matt Cain as they battle for the final spot. Meanwhile, the offense should be good again with some competition for the final few spots in the lineup. Joe Panik, Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford represent a solid core and the Giants will likely use Posey even more at first base in order to keep him fresh as a hitter. Melancon should definitely be an upgrade in the closer role and the hop in San Francisco is that he takes some of the pressure off of the other arms in the bullpen.
Weaknesses
The biggest weak spot for the Giants a year ago was their inability to close out games, as they led the majors in blown saves with 30. The issue hit a breaking point in the ninth inning of the NLDS, when four different pitchers combined to give up four runs and blow a 3-2 lead without even recording an out. San Francisco addressed the issue with the addition of Melancon on a four-year, $62 million deal. Melancon has 131 saves over the past three seasons, including 51 from 2015 when he led the majors in that category. The Giants need Melancon to lock down the closer role and take some of the pressure off of the other arms in their bullpen including Hunter Strickland and Corey Gearrin as they attempt to rebound from a brutal 2016 season. Both Gregor Planco and Angel Pagan were important pieces on the 2014 World Series teams and their experience and talent will be difficult to replace.
2017 San Francisco Giants
| Catcher | Buster Posey | Nick Hundley | Trevor Brown | ||
| First Base | Brandon Belt | Buster Posey | Conor Gillaspie | ||
| Second Base | Joe Panik | Eduardo Nunez | Kelby Tomlinson | ||
| Third Base | Eduardo Nunez | Conor Gillaspie | Kelby Tomlinson | ||
| Shortstop | Brandon Crawford | Eduardo Nunez | Kelby Tomlinson | ||
| Left Field | Jarrett Parker | Mac Williamson | David Hernandez | ||
| Center Field | Denard Span | David Hernandez | |||
| Right Field | Hunter Pence | Mac Williamson | David Hernandez | ||
| Designated Hitter | |||||
| Starting Pitcher | Madison Bumgarner | Johnny Cueto | Matt Moore | Jeff Samardzija | Matt Cain |
| Relief Pitcher | Derek Law | Hunter Strickland | George Kontos | Will Smith | Cory Gearrin |
| Closer | Mark Melancon | ||||
Projected Win Total:
World Series Odds: +1200
Outlook
The Giants have enough talent to rebound and contend for a World Series championship in 2017 but first they must deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in an improved NL West. San Francisco has a talented starting rotation with a quality offense that should score more than enough to put them in good positions to win. The key will be the play of the bullpen with Melancon brought in to close and if that group can drastically improve after last year’s disappointment – they were flat-out awful – then the Giants will be ready to contend for a division title and more in 2017.
Prediction: 89-73
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