At the halfway point, the San Francisco Giants are one of the best teams in all of baseball. This comes as a shock to many, after the Chicago Cubs lightning hot start in the Spring. The dog days of summer have hit though, and now the Giants are right up there with the Cubs. Something about “even year magic” should be mentioned, considering the Giants have started their meteoric rise in spite of the fact that six players from the opening day roster on the DL. So what is propelling the Giants to their level of success?
Giants 2016 Midseason Report
Biggest Surprise: Minor League Call-ups
It’s hard to pinpoint just one. Jeff Samardzija has been better than last year, but that was somewhat expected. However, he has seen a decline recently that has knocked him out of this spot. The most impressive thing has been the mid-season call-ups to deal with injuries. Albert Suarez, is 3-1 with a 3.72 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP. Ramiro Peña and Grant Green are both filling in for Joe Panik, and both are batting above .300. Conor Gillaspie is filling in for Matt Duffy and batting .277 with ten RBI. Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson? They’ve combined for eight home-runs and eighteen RBI. All of them have filled in admirably, and provided a depth that many invested Giants fans are shocked by.
Biggest Disappointment: Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez
The bullpen has been the strength of the San Francisco Giants for many years, dating back to their initial world series run in 2010. Javier Lopez and Santiago Casilla are both experiencing very rocky years. With Sergio Romo on the DL for most of the first half, the last three innings have become a bit of a crapshoot for the Giants bullpen. Innings are up all around, mainly due to the inability of the fourth and fifth starters to get into the seventh inning. The bullpen really is the only area truly needs addressing. Getting Romo back soon will help, but they still need at least one more bullpen arm.
Midseason Team MVP: Brandon Belt
Brandon Belt was a player that Giants management had been touting as a .300 average, twenty home run guy since he made his big league debut in 2011. A lot of injuries and stubbornness on his own part have delayed him from blossoming into the player they thought he could be. This season, he finally is healthy, and hitting on all cylinders.
Belt used to be a streaky hitter in general. While his power is still a little streaky, his hitting has been consistent overall. Thanks to a different approach to the plate, and an adjustment in his grip on the bat, Belt is leading all NL first basemen in batting average. He leads the team in average, home runs, extra-base hits, walks, OBP, SLG %, and OPS. Therefore, it’s almost a no-brainer. Brandon Belt is the MVP of the Giants first half.
What To Watch For
Look for them to improve the bullpen at the deadline. They now have SEVENTEEN blown saves, tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the worst number in the big leagues. Andrew Miller is the big target everyone is talking about, but the asking price on him might just be too high.
As we get closer to the deadline, teams will begin to solidify their stance as buyers and sellers. It’s possible some lesser known, but just as effective, bullpen names will be the ones that the front office lands. In terms of help from within? Expect Christian Arroyo to get a September call-up at the roster expansion date. Giving him experience at the big league level early could be beneficial to his development. It would give the organization, and Arroyo himself, a chance to see where he stands up against the top level of competition.
Wrap Up
The Giants have many good things going for them. They’re well above .500 and have a good sized lead on the division. The key will be getting some consistently good performances out of the bullpen as they shore up their run to the postseason. Expect them to be in the playoffs this year. Their run of even year trophies, however, could fall through if the bullpen doesn’t get fixed.
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