Team-by-Team Fantasy Projections: San Francisco Giants

Here are the 2016 MLB fantasy projections for the San Francisco Giants (ZiPS projections courtesy Dan Szymborski; Steamer projections courtesy Jared Cross, Dash Davidson and Peter Rosenbloom; Zeile projections courtesy FantasyPros):

Hitters

C Buster Posey

Posey is the best catcher in baseball and should be drafted anywhere in the third to fourth round of any typical 10-team league. His strikeout rate dropped for the fourth straight year in 2015 and his contact rate went up for pitches both in and out of the strike zone. He'll be the fulcrum of the Giants' offense, batting third in the order.

1B Brandon Belt

In his three healthy full seasons in the majors, Belt has routinely posted a BABIP above .350; that would typically indicate a lucky hitter, but 24% of his hits have been line drives, so his rate stats seem to be sustainable. His high K% and relative lack of power makes him more of a depth corner infielder than a first-string 1B.

2B Joe Panik

Panik is an excellent contact hitter; in 2015, he connected on 89.7% of his swings, including pitches outside the strike zone. Barring injury, he should play 130-plus games at 2B. Projections suggest that his eight HRs in 2015 were a fluke. Panik is a low-upside option, but will be mixed-league-relevant depending on where he bats in the order.

3B Matt Duffy

If he walks a little more and strikes out a little less, Duffy can continue to be a breakout surprise in fantasy. With many leagues giving him 2B eligibility, Duffy will give his backers a versatile bench option with a still-to-be-determined ceiling. He's being taken in the late rounds of standard drafts.

SS Brandon Crawford

Crawford was a preseason darling last year, owing to the scarcity of MLB-ready talent at SS. With the emergence of Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor and Corey Seager, as well as the potential of a slide into a less favorable spot in the batting order, Crawford can be found at a discount late in the draft.

LF Denard Span

Span will be 32 by Opening Day and is coming off a season in which he missed 101 games with combinations of injuries to his core, right knee, back and left hip. Still, he hit just over .300 in his last 200 games with the Nationals and offers a decent steals option. It would help the fantasy value of the Giants' infielders if Span settled in at eighth in the order.

CF Angel Pagan

Pagan has settled into the final act of his career. He struggled against lefties in 2014 - and then hit .318 against them last year while struggling to hit righties. He's unpredictable. He'll split time with Gregor Blanco in LF, but both men are simply placeholders. Pagan isn't fantasy-relevant at this stage in his career.

RF Hunter Pence

Pence suffered the first significant injury of his career in 2015, missing much of the season with a broken forearm, followed by DL stints for a sore wrist and an oblique strain. Most aspects of his game - BA, BB%, K%, contact - have been slowly waning, while his nine HRs in just 52 games last season seem like a result of luck. Be careful about overreaching on Pence.

Starters

LHP Madison Bumgarner

Bumgarner is a true fantasy ace who will start many games in a pitcher's park. He should be off the board anywhere from the middle of the second to late-third rounds. One concern is over-usage; as Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain can attest, postseason greatness can come at a price, and MadBum has averaged nearly 250 IP per season since 2010.

RHP Johnny Cueto

Cueto helped the Royals win a pennant, but 81.1 innings in the AL caused his ERA to bloat. Before the trade from the Reds, he was one of the top pitchers in baseball. In 10-team leagues, Cueto should be drafted as a team's second or third-best SP, as his stats should rebound in the pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.

RHP Jeff Samardzija

Samardzija had a rough time adapting to the hitter's park in Chicago that is US Cellular Field, but an offseason move to the NL West should help his stats bounce back to reflect the mid-3.00 fielding-independent pitching rates he enjoyed throughout his tenure with the Cubs. He should be drafted as an SP4.

RHP Jake Peavy

With 2,296.2 IP between the regular season and postseason and his 35th birthday in May, Peavy clearly doesn't have a ton of upside. His K/9 rate has fallen steadily, though it's encouraging that his velocity has held steady at 90 mph the last several seasons. He isn't typically drafted so expect him to be available as a midseason waiver-wire target.

RHP Matt Cain

Including a substantial buy-out prior to the 2018 season, Cain is still owed close to $50 million over the next three seasons. That will make it hard to keep him out of the rotation if he's healthy, even though second-year RHP Chris Heston has significantly higher upside. Skip Cain but monitor his health; if he hits the DL, Heston will be guaranteed at least two starts to prove his value.

Closer

RHP Santiago Casilla

Experts have Casilla pegged anywhere from the 20th- to 30th-best reliever. While a 2.79 ERA last season made him a steal given expectations, a 3.63 FIP suggests he got a big assist from luck and team defense. With an improved staff in front of him, Casilla could be a late-draft steal with 30-save potential.