Season 20
Won/Loss (place in division) & Playoffs: 74-88 (3rd), missed playoffs
Offense: 718 runs (8th)
Pitching: 4.74 ERA (13th)
Major Changes
FA Departures: CF AL Julio
FA Signees: RP Eduardo Rosario, CF Kendry Eusebio
Promoted: SP Phil Takada (Sea 17 #24 overall), SP Willie Ontiveros (Sea 18 #13 overall)
Lurking in AAA: OF Yeico Cora, OF Yeico Cervelli, IF Pascual Lecuona
Season 21 OutlookThe Giants get a lot for a little on offense, ranking in the middle of the NL in runs without much power (tied for 14th in HR's), and without getting on base terribly well (.322, 10th). They will steal a base on you - 129 SB"s last year.
OF Warren Gumbert is San Francisco's one star position player - his strength is reaching base (.404 OBP last year). When he gets on there are moderate power threats behind him, most notably 1B Robin Jones (.253/26/97) and SS Edgardo Arrojo (.270/20/90). Their most interesting offensive players may be the 3 prospects sitting at AAA - all 3 potentially offer better power than anyone on the current ML roster.
The bigger concern is the staff, which ranked pretty far down the ERA list despite the friendly home park. Ichiro Hara is the #1, and he's coming off his best year (18-10, 3.50). D'Angelo Villa has been a decent #2 for them, but after that it's anyone's guess on the rest of the rotation.
Rookie Pepe Vazquez was a semi bright spot in the pen last year (3.76 ERA, but only converted 4 of 11 save opportunities). B.C. Arroyo was his mirror image - seemingly ineffective (4.43 ERA), but converted 24 of 26. Newcomer Rosario might win the closer role. Regardless of roles, those 3 potentially form a pretty good late-inning trio. Long and mid-relief will be a minefield - potentially navigable, but ready to explode any moment.
The Gigantes took a big step up last season, and seemed poised for more of the same this year. I'm particularly interested to see what happens when they promote Pascual Lecuona and the 2 Yeico's.
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