San Francisco Giants: Pre-Cactus League Prediction of Opening Day Roster

Before Cactus League games start, it’s time to make a prediction of what the San Francisco Giants roster will look like on Opening Day.

With Cactus League play just a few days away, plenty of players competing for their baseball lives will soon get to show what they can do for the San Francisco Giants. There aren’t many high-profile position battles in camp, but the battles that are in place have plenty of combatants vying for the job. With that in mind, let’s predict what the Giants’ Opening Day roster will look like.

Catchers:

Buster Posey is the Giants’ catcher, no ifs, ands, or buts. Nick Hundley was re-signed this offseason to bring back what he brought last season: veteran leadership and enough power from the right side to somewhat ease the pain of losing Posey’s bat on his off-days. Injuries are just about the only thing that will change this group.

Final Prediction: Posey, Hundley

Infielders:

The starting infield is set as well. Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Evan Longoria, and Brandon Crawford will combine to give San Francisco one of the best defensive infields in baseball. The group behind that foursome isn’t quite so set in stone, but it is fairly easy to predict.

Pablo Sandoval is still a favorite of manager Bruce Bochy, and is an interesting option off the bench. He can handle both corners of the infield, and still has some power left in his bat. He’ll get plenty of opportunities this spring, and it would take a pretty abysmal Cactus League performance (like, 0-39 abysmal) for him to be jettisoned off the roster.

Kelby Tomlinson continues to prove his value as a utility infielder. He’s a solid defender across the infield (who can also play the outfield in a pinch), a strong pinch-hitter, and has more than enough speed to worry opposing pitchers in the late innings of a close game. He still has minor-league options, but it would take a big spring from a non-roster player to upend Tomlinson.

Final Prediction: Belt, Panik, Longoria, Crawford, Sandoval, Tomlinson

Outfielders:

The corner outfield spots are set, with Hunter Pence shifting to left field and Andrew McCutchen taking his former spot in right. Austin Jackson will make the opening day roster, likely as the starting center fielder (at least in the early part of the season). That leaves two open spots.

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Jarrett Parker is out of options, and the Giants clearly have a soft spot for him. He’s got plenty of power, which will come in handy coming off the bench. He should make the opening day roster, as long as he doesn’t fall flat on his face in Arizona.

Gorkys Hernandez has the added advantage of already being on the 40-man roster, and can play center field capably. But he’s a right-handed hitter and doesn’t fit with the team’s plan to have a lefty share at-bats with Jackson. That’s where Gregor Blanco comes in. Blanco wasn’t bad with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, and is already plenty familiar with center field at AT&T Park. He’ll make the opening day roster and give Steven Duggar some time in AAA.

Final Prediction: Pence, Jackson, McCutchen, Parker, Blanco

Starting Rotation:

Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, and Jeff Samardzija are locked into their spots. Chris Stratton has the inside edge to get the fourth spot, and after hearing how big a fan Bochy is of Stratton over the past few months, it would likely take a massive failure in Arizona to get him out of the rotation. That leads to the final spot in the rotation.

Ty Blach is the favorite for it, but he has plenty of competition behind him. Tyler Beede, Andrew Suarez, Joan Gregorio, and Derek Holland are chief among the competitors. Beede has fans in the front office, and if he can get his sinker working early in spring and duplicate his performance from spring (2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings), he could force his way onto the roster. I think he does.

Final Prediction: Bumgarner, Cueto, Samardzija, Stratton, Beede

Bullpen:

Mark Melancon is the closer, with Hunter Strickland, Sam Dyson, and the newly-signed Tony Watson combining to make the group right in front of him. Cory Gearrin is out of options and will be hard to usurp after a pretty solid campaign last year. That leaves one spot for a righty, and one for a lefty.

Derek Law is the presumptive leader of the right-handed contingent, despite a disappointing year in 2017. He did look better at the end of the year, and if he shows that he’s found the magic touch that made him so good in 2016, he’ll take the job. Reyes Moronta, Roberto Gomez, Tyler Cyr, Tyler Herb, Pierce Johnson, and Rule 5 pick Julian Fernandez will all make their case, but Law will get the nod.

Final Prediction (RHP): Melancon, Strickland, Dyson, Gearrin, Law

D.J. Snelten is going to make noise. He’s a groundball machine (about 64 percent in AA and AAA last season), which plays well with the defense behind him. With Blach not making the opening day rotation, however, he’ll find a spot in the bullpen as the second lefty/swingman. Snelten isn’t far behind, though, and with a good spring, should easily jump ahead of Steven Okert and Josh Osich on the depth chart unless one of those two can prove something.

Final Prediction (LHP): Watson, Blach

Next: Giants Add Much-Needed Lefty to Bullpen

Now, we just need to figure out what the lineup will look like on Opening Day…