San Francisco Giants Will Be Well Represented in Cincinnati
When manager Bruce Bochy take the helm for the National League All-Star Team later this month in Cincinnati, he should feel comfortable looking around at the players he will manage. His team, the San Francisco Giants, will have a healthy contingency of representatives for the Mid-Summer Classic. For the third time in four years, the Giants will have four players on the All-Star team, including a pair of first-timers.
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Giants’ catcher Buster Posey will start the game behind the plate, as he won the fan vote over the St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina by nearly two million votes. Posey will be an All-Star for the third time, as he was on the team in 2012 and 2013. He was elected a starter in 2012, the year in which he caught Matt Cain, the All-Star starting pitcher that year
Posey has been an offensive force so far for the Giants. He leads the teams with home runs, RBI, runs scored, and walks. He is also tops among catchers in home runs, average, RBI, and hits.
Posey caught Cain in 2012, and he may have the opportunity to catch another Giants’ pitcher this year. Madison Bumgarner was named an All-Star as well, his third straight selection. Bumgarner has been the rock in the Giants’ rotation this year, going 8-5 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.076 WHIP, and 114 strikeouts in 113.1 innings. Like Alex Pavlovic tweeted, Bumgarner likely locked himself into a spot on the All-Star team on October 29th last year.
Bumgarner is scheduled to pitch on Friday, in the series opener with the Philadelphia Phillies. He should have plenty of rest time to be able to throw an inning or two in the All-Star Game next Tuesday.
The two first-timers for the Giants are the young middle infield duo of shortstop Brandon Crawford and second baseman Joe Panik. The combination becomes the Giants’ first double-play combo to make the All-Star Team since second baseman Jeff Kent and shortstop Rich Aurilia in 2001.
Crawford, in his fifth season, was voted in by his fellow players. To be named an All-Star is special, but to be recognized as such by your peers is even better. Crawford has been developing offensively for years, but he seems to have put it all together this season. He has already toppled his career-high by hitting 12 home runs, and he is on pace to shatter his career-bests in hits, doubles, runs batted in, runs scored, and stolen bases.
While Crawford’s offensive development has been slow and steady, Panik’s bat has been his biggest weapon since day one. After hitting .305 in his rookie season in 2014, Panik is holding steady with a .304 average this year, along with a .370 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage, plus 30 RBI and 41 runs scored. Maybe surprisingly, Panik has shown a good deal of power this year. He’s hit six home runs and 21 doubles so far, and raised his slugging percentage by nearly 80 points from last season.
Panik’s glove has also been fantastic this season. He’s committed just two errors and owns a .995 fielding percentage, both of which are tied for second among Major League second basemen, behind only the Washington Nationals’ Danny Espinosa.
The Giants are used to sending a glut of players to the All-Star Game, but this year is a little more special. All four Giants’ All-Stars are homegrown players.