Team Fantasy Preview - San Francisco Giants
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Throughout the preseason, we will be previewing all 30 teams and what their rosters bring to the fantasy baseball table. This edition covers the San Francisco Giants.
Projected Lineup
| ORDER | POSITION | NAME | BATS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CF | Denard Span | L |
| 2 | 1B | Brandon Belt | L |
| 3 | C | Buster Posey | R |
| 4 | RF | Hunter Pence | R |
| 5 | SS | Brandon Crawford | L |
| 6 | 3B | Eduardo Nunez | R |
| 7 | 2B | Joe Panik | L |
| 8 | LF | Jarrett Parker | L |
| Bench | OF | Mac Williamson | R |
| Bench | 2B/3B/SS | Kelby Tomlinson | R |
Projected Rotation
| ORDER | NAME | THROWS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison Bumgarner | L |
| 2 | Johnny Cueto | R |
| 3 | Matt Moore | L |
| 4 | Jeff Samardzija | R |
| 5 | Matt Cain | R |
Bullpen Battles
| ROLE | NAME | THROWS |
|---|---|---|
| Closer | Mark Melancon | R |
| Set-Up | Hunter Strickland | R |
| RP | Will Smith | L |
Top Prospect to Watch in 2017
Christian Arroyo. The Giants' top prospect comes in at 79 in the most recent MLB prospect rankings. The Giants love his high-contact approach, even if it eats away at his power potential; he hit just three HRs in 517 PAs at Double-A in 2016. While he has come up as a shortstop, Crawford and Panik block him in the middle infield. The best case for Arroyo is probably a move to left field, where the Giants don't appear to have any long-term options in the fold.
Who Will Drive You Crazy?
As long as Belt plays 70-plus games per season at AT&T Park, his potential as an offensive force will go unfulfilled. His ISO was on par with the likes of Carlos Gonzalez, Bryce Harper and Corey Seager last season, but he's yet to eclipse 20 homers in a year. Over 67% of his home runs have come on the road in his career. If this is the year that a trade finally comes to fruition, Belt could be a 25-plus HR hitter - but only if.
The One To Own
Don't over think this, it's Bumgarner. Somehow, MadBum gave up the most home runs of any season of his career to date and finished with a career-best 2.74 ERA. He also increased his K/9 rate for the fourth straight campaign. Buster Posey might be more valuable given the thin talent at catcher, but he's also more reliant on his teammates; Bumgarner is (almost) a self-contained, singular force.
Top Sleeper
Moore put up a 4.08 ERA over 12 regular season starts with his new club after being acquired from the Rays. Jeff Samardzija's ERA fell from 4.96 to 3.81 in his first year with the club, even though much of his peripheral stats weren't drastically different; that's the power of a great pitcher's park and solid defensive support. Expect big things in Moore's first full season by the bay.