2012 San Francisco Giants Predictions
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Giants were unable to defend their 2010 World Series Championship last season. The Giants still finished with a winning record at 86-76, but were 8-games back of the Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West. San Francisco believes the additions of outfielders Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan will give their top of the line pitching staff enough offense to take back the division in 2012. Let’s take a closer look at the Giants projected starting lineup, starting rotation, and closer situation.
Projected Lineup
Buster Posey (Catcher) – An ankle injury ended Posey’s 2011 season after just 45 games. San Francisco really missed his bat in the middle of the lineup. In 160 big league games, Posey has hit .294 with 22 home runs and 88 RBI. Those numbers are what the Giants expect from their 25-year-old behind the plate in 2012.
Aubrey Huff (First Base) -Huff really disappointed in his second season with the Giants. After hitting .290 with 26 home runs and 86 RBI in 2010, the veteran posted a .246 average with just 12 home runs and 59 RBI in 150 games last season. Huff is known for bouncing back after a poor showing, but that won’t be easy at the age of 36.
Freddy Sanchez (Second Base) - Sanchez has struggled to stay healthy since coming over from the Pirates in 2009. After playing in just 111 games in 2010, a shoulder injury limited him to just 60 games last year. When healthy he can hit around .300 with 10 home runs and 75 RBI, but time is starting to run out on the 34-year-old.
Brandon Crawford (Shortstop) -The Giants are going to hope that Crawford’s defense will make up for what figures to be a horrible season at the plate. The 25-year-old hit just .204 in 66 games with the Giants last season and has shown little in the minor leagues to believe he will ever be a threat offensively.
Pablo Sandoval (Third Base) – Sandoval bounced back from a horrible 2010 season with an All-Star campaign in 2011. After losing 40 pounds in the offseason, Sandoval hit .315 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI in just 117 games. If the 25-year-old can keep his weight in check and stay motivated, he has the potential to be even better going forward.
Melky Cabrera (Left Field) – Cabrera is coming off a career year with the Royals in 2011. He set career-highs with a .305 batting average, 18 home runs, 87 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. He turned just 27 in August, so there is plenty of reason to believe last year was no fluke.
Angel Pagan (Center Field) – Pagan will be looking to rebound from a sub-par showing in 2011. The veteran outfielder hit just .262 with an OBP of just .322 after posting a .290 average and .340 OBP the previous season. He did manage to steal 32 bases in just 123 games, giving him 69 steals over the last two seasons.
Nate Schierholtz (Right Field) – The Giants are hoping Schierholtz can hold his own in right field this season. He hit .278 with nine home runs and 41 RBI in 335 at-bats last year. Not exactly the kind of numbers that make you think he is primed for a breakout season.
Projected Rotation
Tim Lincecum (RHP) -Don’t be fooled into thinking Lincecum didn’t pitch well in 2011. His 13-14 record don’t do justice to his 2.74 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. The Giants scored a whopping 2.8 runs in Lincecum’s starts. The 27-year-old is still one of the elite starters in the game today, and poised for a much better record in 2012.
Matt Cain (RHP) – Cain also suffered from a lack of run support in 2011. He finished up just 12-11 on the season, but posted a 2.88 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Cain has been extremely reliable early in his career. The 27-year-old has now thrown at least 200 innings in each of the last five seasons.
Madison Bumgarner (LHP) - After going 8-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts in 2010, Bumgarner followed it up with a pretty impressive first full season as starter. He went 13-13 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 33 starts last year. The 22-year-old has all kinds of potential going forward and really gives the Giants a powerful 1-2-3 punch at the top of the rotation.
Ryan Vogelsong (RHP) – Vogelsong was one of the big surprises in 2011. After spending three seasons in Japan, the 34-year-old posted a 13-7 record with a 2.71 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 28 starts with the Giants. The big question is whether or not Vogelsong will be able to replicate that success in 2012.
Barry Zito (LHP) – Zito’s tenure in San Francisco has been a complete disaster. In five seasons with the Giants the lefty hasn’t finished with an ERA below 4.00 and is just 43-61 over that stretch. He has stretches where he looks like the guy who went 16-10 with a 3.86 ERA in 2006 with the A’s, but hard to imagine anything more than an average season from Zito at this point in his career.
Projected Closer
Brian Wilson (RHP) – Wilson wasn’t quite as effective in 2011 as he has been in previous seasons. His 3.11 ERA was the highest it has been since 2008, but he still went out and converted 36 of 41 save opportunities last year. With one of the best starting rotations in the game and an offense that should be improved from a season ago, Wilson could easily save 45+ games if he can stay healthy.
| 2012 San Francisco Giants Odds | |
| World Series | +1500 |
| NL Pennant | +700 |
| NL West | +130 |
| Total Regular Season Wins | O87.5 (+105) |
| U87.5 (-135) |
Over/Under Total Home Runs in the 2012 Regular Season
Aubrey Huff – 14.5
Buster Posey – 18.5
Pablo Sandoval – 25.5
Over/Under Total Wins in the 2012 Regular Season
Tim Lincecum – 15
Matt Cain – 13.5
Madison Bumgarner – 13
Ryan Vogelsong – 9.5
Over/Under Total Saves in the 2012 Regular Season
Brian Wilson – 35.5
MLB Predictions by Team
Got something to say?
- Betting Basics
- Betting MLB Totals
- Big Favorites
- Dime Lines
- Guide to Betting
- First 5 Innings
- First Inning Bets
- How to Bet
- Interleague Play
- Key Numbers for Totals
- Matchups
- Money Lines Explained
- Parlay Returns
- Overnight Lines
- Rules
- Run Lines Explained
- Standings
- Sportsbooks
- Trends
- Underdog Betting Systems
- Handicapping
- Common Mistakes
- Listed Pitchers
- Hedging Run Line Bets
- Monitoring Umpires
- Revenge Systems
- Reverse Line Moves
- Spring Training
- Schedule
- Tips on Totals
- Preparing for Season
- Top Handicappers