The San Francisco Giants won the National League West in 2021 by winning 107 games. In 2022, the Giants have higher expectations, but the other teams in the division added more firepower, while the Giants lost some firepower. San Francisco lost Kris Bryant, who signed with the Colorado Rockies and Buster Posey retired. However, the Giants did add Carlos Rodon to their pitching staff. He will be the Giants’ second starter.
Projected Lineup
LINEUP
2B Tommy La Stella (L)
1B Brandon Belt (L)
DH Darin Ruf (R)
SS Brandon Crawford (L)
RF LaMonte Wade Jr. (L)
3B Evan Longoria (R)
LF Joc Pederson (L)
CF Mike Yastrzemski (L)
C Joey Bart (R)
ROTATION
RHP Logan Webb
LHP Carlos Rodon
LHP Alex Wood
RHP Alex Cobb
Three Bold Predictions
Logan Webb will win Cy Young
Webb will be the Giants’ opening day start after a break-out season last year. The Giants pitcher finished 11-3 with a 3.03 ERA. In the NLDS against the Los Angles Dodgers, Webb pitched 14 2/3 innings and gave up only one run. During the second half of the season, Webb was the best pitcher and took over as the ace of the Giants. San Francisco was 12-0 at home in games the Webb started. The Rocklin native has grown a lot as a pitcher and is now the ace of the Giants staff and is poised to have a big season. However, if San Francisco wants to create last year’s magic, he will need to.
The Giants will win 100 plus games
According to bet online, the Giants win total bet is 85.5. If the Giants win 100 plus games, they will need a similar season from Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt, who had career years. Crawford batted .298 with 24 home runs last season, while Belt hit 29 home runs.
Also, other players will need to step up and replace the production on Bryant and Posey. Catcher Joey Bart will be the starting catcher and will need to produce. The pitching staff will need to be strong, Webb and Rodon will need to be dominant at the top of the rotation, and other starters must be solid.
The Bullpen will need to be strong and much better than last year. San Francisco will be scrappy and play hard every game, and it will help lead them to a lot of wins.
Darin Ruf will hit 25 or more home runs
Ruf was a pleasant surprise last year for San Francisco; he batted .271 with 16 home runs last year in 262 at-bats. Ruf mostly played against left-handed pitchers, but Ruf could see a lot of playing time with the universal DH and the Giants’ need for right-handed bats. Ruf has plus power and is patient at the plate. He also has a good eye and likes to work the count. With more at-bats, Ruf could hit 25 or more home runs; the Giants could use Ruf’s power from the right-handed side of the plate.
It will be interesting to see what happens this year. The Giants overachieved last year and will look to do it again this year. Starting pitching and timely hitting will be critical for San Francisco’s success.
