Season Predictions
It has been a long time since I last posted. I am hoping to get back into some regular posts as the baseball season gets going. A majority of them will be about baseball, but I also want to expand my thoughts to cover additional interests.
For now, I wanted to get some quick predictions down for the baseball season along with a few other thoughts that have popped up. Most of these are Giants specific, but not all.
1) It is going to be a long season for the Giants. It feels like a team that is going to lose 90+ games. Currently sitting at 6-11 and having lost six out of eight vs the Royals, Tigers and Marlins, I am not sure how it gets easier for this team, especially with the strength of the NL West. They are an offense that relies on the long ball too much and the swing and miss issues will continue to be a problem. The pitching is solid, but it is a groundball staff with a below average infield defense, which is never a good combination.
2) The Giants will finish fourth in the NL West. 1) Dodgers 2) Padres 3) Diamondbacks 4) Giants 5) Rockies.
3) The Farm system will see some successes this year. I believe Matos will establish himself as a top 100 prospect again. Schmitt will debut in the Majors and show plus defense but struggle with the bat. Harrison will also debut but will struggle with command and will end the season in the pen (not his long term role, but a good spot for him to get his feet wet).
4) I'll stick with this prediction I made to a few friends - Joey Bart will not be a Giant on August 1st. He might be a RiverCat, but most likely, I believe he will be traded and Gary Sanchez will be up (or possibly Bailey).
5) Michael Conforto will lead the position players in WAR, but Estrada will be a close second and I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being the best for the Giants.
6) Haniger will miss more than 50% of the games this year. You sign a player with an extensive injury history, be prepared for the player to be injured.
7) A large portion of the bullpen will be available and most likely traded at the deadline. Camilo Doval will be the big name out there, but Tyler Rogers will be the toughest one to see traded.
8) Farhan and Kapler will get another year in 2024, but there will be shake ups on the ML staff and the front office staff. The off-season (and the pursuit of Ohtani) will define the vibes going into 2024.
I will follow up in a few weeks with some thoughts on ML development choices, the long awaited Posey signing story (still working on it) and outside of baseball, some thoughts on my beloved Portland Trail Blazers and my experiences coaching youth baseball this Spring season.