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| Buster Posey on the expectations for the 2024 #SFGiants "My expectations are the same as everybody's in the organization. You're looking to get into the playoffs and your looking to get into the playoffs by winning the division. That's always got to be the mindset when you… | |||||
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15. San Francisco Giants
Projected record: 83-79 (40% playoff odds | 0.6% World Series odds)
What has changed most since we saw them last? San Francisco needed an infusion of talent. They used the entire offseason, and most of spring training, to complete a significant one. The Giants tried signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. That didn't happen, giving credence to the idea that the club can't land premier free agents. Signing Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year $113 million contract -- an overpay in some observers' eyes -- plus Jorge Soler and Jordan Hicks didn't change the club's expected fortunes much. But getting Matt Chapman and Blake Snell during spring training altered the expectations surrounding San Francisco. Add Robbie Ray's expected summer return and the Giants are legitimate postseason contenders. -- Castillo
Most likely 2024 award winner: The somewhat beleaguered Farhan Zaidi had himself a strong hot stove season. Despite that narrative dominated by the Giants whiffing on elite free agents, he managed to ink Snell, Lee, Chapman, Soler and Hicks. He nabbed Nick Ahmed on a minor league deal. His trade for Ray could pay off big later in the season. Zaidi also plucked Bob Melvin from division rival San Diego to replace Gabe Kapler in the dugout. If the Giants bust out, Zaidi is going to be a leading contender for Executive of the Year. -- Doolittle
How they can become true contenders: The Giants received 729⅓ innings from their starting rotation last year, dead last in the majors. Only two pitchers went more than 150 innings: Logan Webb and Alex Cobb, who underwent hip surgery in October. That will have to change. Adding Snell will certainly help matters, even though he also isn't known for going deep in games. But Hicks' transition to the rotation and Ray's emergence in the second half will be critical here. Just as important: Kyle Harrison's development in his age-22 season. -- Gonzalez
One (realistic) bold prediction: The Giants gave Lee a six-year, $113 million contract as a free agent from South Korea, betting his contact skills and ability to hit for average will translate to the majors. They will: He hits .301 with a .360 OBP and becomes the first Giants player since Hunter Pence in 2014 to score 100 runs. -- Schoenfield
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Our pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (26 votes)
Not a single voter picked another team to win the NL West. Why is this a lock for the Dodgers? Because we've seen them do it with so much less. The 2024 Dodgers are imperfect -- in terms of their rotation stability and infield defense, specifically -- but nowhere near as flawed as they were last year, when they reeled off 100 wins and claimed their 10th division title in 11 years. They've already mastered the six-month regular season, and now they're the deepest and most talented team in the entire sport, let alone the NL West. There have been years when the Dodgers have been vulnerable through this run. This is not one of those. -- Alden Gonzalez
NL wild cards
Our picks: Philadelphia Phillies (23 votes), Arizona Diamondbacks (19), San Francisco Giants (16)
Who else got votes? San Diego Padres (8), Chicago Cubs (7), Atlanta Braves (2), Cincinnati Reds (2), St. Louis Cardinals (1)
You picked all three of the teams that were the favorites among our voters to be a wild card. Why will that be the NL wild-card field? Well, first, I'm a little surprised that the Giants were such a popular pick. I think of them more as a sleeper candidate, even though I picked them, as well. Here's the dynamic in the NL, circa 2024. You have the Braves and Dodgers on their own level with no one else projected to be anywhere near them. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the Rockies and Nationals forecasted to be the league's punching bags. Then you have the Phillies, who look like the clear No. 3 in the league. Since Philly shares a division with Atlanta, that marks them as the most likely of the NL's wild-card candidates.
After that, there is no eventual end-of-season order of the other 10 teams that would shock me. I like the Diamondbacks as a team on the rise, one that should be better than last season even if they don't catch lightning in a bottle again at playoff time. And I like the Giants for the quality bulk of their offseason acquisitions, the potential of Jung Hoo Lee to be a catalyst atop their lineup, their overall depth and especially the potential of a rotation led by a big three of Logan Webb, Blake Snell and the electric Kyle Harrison. -- Doolittle
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Cy Young: Logan Webb
Second place: Spencer Strider
Third place: Zack Wheeler
Dark horse: Freddy Peralta
I just didn’t want to go chalk with Strider because I think he’ll lead the league in strikeouts and pile up innings, but figure the Braves will pull back his innings come August and September to get him ready for the playoffs. Therefore, I decided to pick Webb, who was the runner-up to Blake Snell in last year’s NL Cy Young voting. Webb posted a 3.16 FIP over 33 starts last season and led the league in innings pitched (216) and walks per nine (1.3). His command and ownership of the lower part of the zone are special. I considered Wheeler and Peralta as well.
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Giants
It's worth noting here that MLB.com voters cast their predictions last week. If the vote had been held a few weeks earlier, perhaps a club such as the Padres would have slid into this spot. Instead, the Giants made multiple marquee moves late in the offseason, bringing aboard slugger Jorge Soler, four-time Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman and 2023 NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, and ended up squeaking past their rivals to the south in the voting. Those transactions combined with the club's previous moves -- including the hiring of manager Bob Melvin -- could push San Francisco back into the postseason.
Others receiving votes: Padres, Reds, Cubs, Mets, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Pirates, Dodgers and Nationals
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THE HOTTEST HITTERS FROM SPRING IN THE LINE UP TODAY WERE LEE AT .333 , ESTRADA AT .288 WITH A
COUPLE DIINGERS, SOLER HTI .286, BUT DIDNT SHOW HIS USUAL POWER, CHPMAN WAS LATE BUT HIS 2 HRS
IN 32 ABS AND NICK AHMED MAKE THE CLUB AS A FA WITH HIS GLOVE BUT BOSTED A .355 SPRING BATTING
AVERAGE.
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THE GINATS SHOULD PITCH AND PLAY DEFENSE IN 2024 - BUT IN 2023 THEY AVERAGED 4.16 RUNS PER GAME, 24TH
IN MLB - WITH THE ADDITONS OF LEE, SOLER, CHAPMAN AND SOME HEALTH, THAT NUMBERS NEEDS TO BE CLOSE
TO 5 RUNS PER GAME FOR THEM TO BE A PLAYOFF TEAM IN 2024.
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