2012 ZiPS Projections - San Francisco Giants

While the inclusion of Carlos Beltran and to a lesser extent, Cody Ross, makes the offense look better than it is, it’s not really quite as bad as finishing last in the NL would have you

believe. There’s solid front-line talent, mostly under 30 (practically a toddler by Sabean years) and the biggest problem was getting that talent to stay on the field. Thanks to injuries

to the team’s two best players, one serious (Posey) and one annoying (Sandoval) and the Ghost of Outfielders Past leaving all sorts of flotsam behind leaving it hard to get Belt in the

lineup when he was healthy, the Giants didn’t got a lot of at-bats from their best hitters. They also underscored their runs created by about 50 runs and though those missing runs don’t

get the 2011 Giants offense to respectability, it at least sends the SWATless team and their tactical Roflcopter back to their home base.

Nobody can blame the pitching staff for the 2011 troubles - they clearly did their best and too many lousy hitters got playing time, resulting in the waste of the staff’s excellence. They

should still be very good in 2012, though ZiPS is skeptical of Ryan Vogelsong, for obvious reasons. The big downside concern is the same as last year’s; the lack of starting pitcher depth

in the upper minors. That turned out well in 2011 thanks to pulling Vogelsong out of a hat and continued good health from the rotation, but even with Eric Surkamp’s smooth climb in the

minors, things could get very ugly fast if one of the front 3 starters hears a popping sound.

Still, as of right now, I’d put the Giants as my NL West favorites, though they remain a team with issues.

On Deck: Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals

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