Breakout Stars from San Francisco Giants' First Week of Spring Training Action

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Baseball season is back, and so are the defending World Series champions San Francisco Giants. With a total of five games played in spring training thus far, there are a few young players who have started to make their case to be on the Opening Day roster.

However, it's important to realize a couple of things. First, only five spring training baseball games is an extremely small sample size, and it won't tell us anything going forward. That leads me into my second point, which is that it's spring training; stats and productivity have to be taken with a grain of salt because teams and players are just trying to ease themselves back into the daily baseball routine.

However, every at-bat counts for the young and unestablished players since this is their chance to prove themselves.

Here are three Giants youngsters that have gotten off to a good start in 2013.

Francisco Peguero

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Francisco Peguero is a player that will be battling for one of the final spots on the 25-man roster. One thing he does have going for him is that he's a right-handed hitter, which manager Bruce Bochy is looking for off the bench in pinch-hit situations. However, his defensive position is in left field, and that's where Andres Torres and Gregor Blanco will be sharing playing time.

With the odds being against him to make the final roster, Peguero has gotten off to a solid start this spring by going 4-for-7 with a double and a run scored.

Being a player that possess the tools that baseball scouts salivate over—raw power, strong arm and speed—he will need to prove that he's capable of handling major league pitching during spring training at the very least.

Expect Peguero to get a steady diet of at-bats this spring, and don't be surprised to see him on the roster if he continues to hit well.

Brock Bond

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Even though Brock Bond is only 1-for-5 thus far, that one hit was a two-run home run on Feb. 26 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Making the Opening Day roster is a long shot for Bond, but according to Hank Schulman, both he and Nick Noonan are possible candidates for a backup infield position along with Joaquin Arias.

According to that tweet, if a veteran player is preferred, one must wonder if the Giants are still interested in re-signing Ryan Theriot, who is currently still on the free-agent market.

Brett Pill

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If there was one player on the San Francisco Giants that has stood out thus far, it would have to be Brett Pill. One reason for this might be because he's leading the team with 14 plate appearances. Another may be that he's hit two home runs already and driven in six runs.

He's also one of two players that have played in all five spring training games, which means that the Giants want to give him as many opportunities as possible to make the team and be that right-handed hitter off the bench.

There is one thing standing in his way, however: his position. Behind Brandon Belt and Buster Posey on his days off from catching, there is virtually a log jam at first base, which is Pill's primary position. It would be difficult for Bochy to use up a roster spot on a guy that would be given an at-bat every other day and nothing more than that.

Whether or not Pill will make the Opening Day roster remains to be seen. However, he is tearing the cover off of the ball, which may force Bochy to think twice about keeping him on board come April.