Predicting the Giants Key Stat Leaders in 2013

Batting Average: Buster Posey

Posey wasn’t an easy pick, per se. Marco Scutaro and Angel Pagan also received some consideration, but Posey ultimately got the nod from me.

Along with the much more notable MVP award, Posey also won the NL Batting Title. His BABIP (Batting Average On Balls in Play) of .423 in the second half, which fueled his chase the Batting Title, is probably unsustainable. This doesn’t mean that he can’t hit .336 again, but he will need a better first half to reach some form of balance.

Mar 2, 2013; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) at bat during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The projections on Posey are mixed. Bill James thinks he will have .324, which is the highest projection of the handful of figures I will list. ZiPS projects him to hit a mere .299 while Steamer projects him to hit .306. So, we have one fairly obvious outlier and a few projections that are on the safer side.

Regardless, Posey doesn’t have a ton of competition for this category. Scutaro will probably hit in the .280’s, while Pagan could eclipse the .300 plateau, but would need to be a bit more disciplined to do so. Pablo Sandoval could also give Posey a run for his money, but that would require him staying healthy, which actually doesn’t seem all too likely at this point.

Therefore, Posey is the favorite.

Projection: .315