San Francisco Giants: Which players can feasibly be All-Stars?
By Doug Brown
The San Francisco Giants do not look like they have an All-Star on the entire roster. But let’s take a look at which players could feasibly be All-Stars next season.
I know the San Francisco Giants have done wonders over the past year with their farm system and that’s the way to go, but what’s going to happen this year? Could we be looking at the worst team in baseball?
Let’s look at the team position by position and see which players could possibly make the All-Star Game.
Catcher
Buster Posey was phenomenal as a rookie and helped carry the team to their first World Series. His three best years were the Giants’ title years. But over the last two years, he’s hit a total of 12 home runs.
His RBI have gone from 103 at his peak to 38 last year. ESPN ranked him as the number one catcher on the All-Decade team. The 32-year-old Posey is signed for three more years at $64 million and certainly isn’t the player he used to be.
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First Base
Brandon Belt is 31-years-old and will be making $32 million over the next two years. Since Belt became the fixture at first in 2012, he’s averaged 56.5 RBI per year. But he’s never hit 20 home runs or batted above .289.
Last year, the Giants’ first baseman “raked” at a .234 pace. A dead pull hitter generally is a massive home run threat, but not Belt. Perhaps that’s why he is not generally a fan favorite.
Teams “give him,” through their massive shift, a bunt single or double whenever he’s up. But Belt seems to want only a home run or a walk.
Second Base
It’s somewhat a mystery who will be playing second, but most are hoping Mauricio Dubon will be manning the position. Last year, the 25-year-old hit .274 in 106 Major League at-bats. He hit .302 at Triple-A last year as well.
He has some range, 20 home run potential and is a bright star on the San Francisco Giants’ horizon. If he hits a snag, it’s Donovan Solano time. Solano will be somewhat of a rover filling in where needed.
Third Base
At 34-years-old, Evan Longoria was a very nice player. Now he seems to be a shadow of his former self. His last two years with the Giants have been about 20 points behind his lifetime batting average of .267.
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He’s slated to be paid $55 million over the next four years. It’s not the Giants’ money, but the salary makes him nearly untradable.
Shortstop
Brandon Crawford has been a fielding gem throughout his career and he’s added some pop at times to the home team lineup. But last year, it’s safe to say, he lost a step in the field. His batting has fallen to a full-season career low of .228.
Donovan Solano, a 32-year-old like Crawford, caught some magic with the Giants last year when he hit .330 over 215 at-bats. Crawford is signed for $15 million per year over the next two seasons.
Left Field
Alex Dickerson is currently on-top of the Giants’ depth chart in left. He brings some hope since he skyrocketed in his brief Giants’ stay.
At 29-years-old with only a little more than 400 Major League at-bats, he’s far from a sure thing, despite his quality showing in the second half of last year.
Center Field
Mike Yastrzemski was the shining light for the Giants last year. At 29-years-old, it was his first taste of the majors and he did well. He hit .272, with 21 home runs, and 55 RBI to pick up a 2.8 WAR.
But the famous grandson of Carl Yastrzemski has tarried away in the minor leagues for seven years with a lifetime average of .263, so while it’s fun to root for him, don’t use a pen when putting him in the lineup in center field.
But he’s shown something positive so far.
Right Field
The kid on the Giants’ outfield positional depth chart is 26-year-old, Steven Duggar. He’s fast, but not a base stealer.
His .234 average gave him a slightly negative WAR. Hopefully, he’ll strike gold this year, but it seems unlikely that these three outfielders will be wire-to-wire starters.
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Pitching
The pitching position is most likely to produce our one minimum mandatory All-Star. Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija seem to have both fame and remaining talent.
Cueto missed most of the last two years with Tommy John surgery, but if he makes it all the way back, he could continue with his lifetime of 3.35 ERA. Samardzija had his second-best year in the majors with a 3.52 ERA and a WAR of 2.9 last season.
Somebody may also excel in the bullpen. As of now, Tony Watson looks to be the closer, but Shaun Anderson has been mentioned a lot as a possible breakthrough closer.
Conclusion
I would not feel comfortable with the Giants having an All-Star worthy player, but luckily every team is guaranteed one. The Giants will likely sniff a couple of rookies like Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos later in the year, but most of their best prospects are two or three years away.
It’s hard to imagine the Giants will have a meaningful game, outside of spoilers, prior to 2022 of 2023. Until then, hope springs eternal.
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Maybe a couple of new gems will be found to give the San Francisco Giants and their fans a lift.