San Francisco Giants: How Each First-Year Giant Will Fare in 2012

As we draw closer and closer to the season opener of the San Francisco Giants, the heart palpitations increase, the sweaty palms glisten, the sleepless nights continue. Yes, a full-blown case of baseball fever.

The only cure? Opening Day. Tick tock, tick tock, T-minus three days to go.

Last year’s 2011 campaign is but a distant memory. Though dismayed for a short time during the offseason, the players, coaches, the organization and fans were comforted in knowing that letdown was the result of lofty expectations from winning the World Series in 2010. After all, isn’t it better to be disappointed in a bad team that is expected to have success than is it to be disappointed in a terrible one that has no chance at succeeding at all?

You live with those frustrations when your team has so recently achieved greatness. But make no mistake—the subsequent game plan is indeed to return to that greatness. And San Francisco has taken the necessary steps in the past few months to get that done come October.

Clearly, the focus of the Giants' management was to make sure that the players who have been in the trenches in San Francisco for the past few years are locked-in and loaded—both from a health standpoint and from a contractual security standpoint.

The lineup welcomes the returns of catcher Buster Posey and second baseman Freddy Sanchez (eventually) to full strength. The team’s front office ensured that All-Star pitchers Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain will each be in San Francisco for a few more years down the road.

However, like every team in the MLB, it’s the key acquisitions during the offseason that draw the most attention, in large part because adding new players to any clubhouse is a simple risk of unknown possibilities.

The typical questions these new players bring with them: Will these new hires mesh well with the current roster? How will they fit in with the team? What will be the roles of the players who remain from last season’s squad?

That’s the mystery of sports. Rarely does a team—even the most successful—retain all of their players. Players move on. Players get traded. New players come in to fill those vacancies.

The Giants are no different. They made a few player personnel transactions during the offseason. Hopefully, these roster changes will be upgrades—in one way or another. But just how will these four new faces that were not on last year’s roster do on the baseball field? Let’s take a look.

Gregor Blanco

One of the more under-recognized and under-publicized stories coming out of Giants camp this spring training is the out-of-nowhere production of free agent outfielder Gregor Blanco. The 28-year-old did not play a single game in the majors in 2011, instead spending an injury-plagued season in the minors. He appeared in 74 total games in the minor leagues, batting a terrible .201 with 50 strikeouts in 199 at-bats. Yuck.

In an MLB game of hot potato, Blanco landed with his third franchise in less than six months, signing as a free agent non-roster invitee with San Francisco last offseason.

With such an unassuming MLB career (featuring 253 games played with a .258 batting average and a .682 OPS), there were low expectations for Blanco heading into spring training. And with new offseason acquisitions Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, the likelihood of Blanco landing a spot in the outfield was considered a long shot.

But spring is a season of rebirth, new opportunities and even surprises. And Blanco has certainly surprised. In 26 games this spring, Blanco has been white-hot, batting .338 with a .400 on-base percentage and a staggering 13 stolen bases. Who is this guy?

However, with Pagan projected to man center field, Cabrera expected to play a majority in left field and Nate Schierholtz the default incumbent right fielder, Blanco would realistically serve as the Giants’ fourth outfielder. Even Aubrey Huff is anticipated to see some time in left field whenever Buster Posey is resting his haunches by playing first base. Thus, Blanco finds himself in a somewhat crowded outfield.

The good thing is that with the multitude of double-switches in the National League, Blanco will indeed see plenty of action in the middle of ballgames—whenever pitching changes occur.

Will he receive enough at-bats and playing time in order to continue his torrid spring? Chances are, not likely. What Blanco will be able to do is fill in if any outfielder is struggling, i.e., Schierholtz or Pagan. But as it stands right now, Blanco will have to continue to wait for opportunities to see more action in the lineup. Players will have to either go down with injury or suffer through slumps in order for Blanco to showcase that this spring is not an aberration.

That shouldn’t matter to him, however. He’s taken a long road to find himself on the Opening Day roster. That’s impressive enough.
 

2012 Projection: Could supplant Schierholtz by season’s end. Blanco’s right-handed bat is welcome in a left-handed-heavy lineup. However, since he lacks power, he won’t exactly be an incredible asset on that side. Could see significant platoon time, however. 

110 games played, .275 batting average, 21 stolen bases

Melky Cabrera

The idea that Melky Cabrera is an upgrade from the departed Carlos Beltran is both astonishing and surprising. After all, Beltran is a six-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove outfielder and a two-time Silver Slugger award winner. Cabrera, meanwhile, is a zero-time winner of anything and is working with his fourth team in the past four seasons.

The statistic that favors Cabrera, however, is his age. And the one category that is better to have a lower number in is trips to the disabled list, where the soon-to-be 35-year-old Beltran has landed at least once in each of the past three seasons.

Thus, despite hitting .323 in 44 games after San Francisco acquired him prior to last season’s trading deadline, Beltran was not in the team’s future plans. Clearly age and health played a factor in the Giants’ decision not to re-sign him as a free agent this past offseason.

With that in mind, San Francisco opted to acquire Cabrera in a deal that sent lefty Jonathan Sanchez to the Kansas City Royals. At only 27, Cabrera is just hitting his prime, as demonstrated by his breakout season in 2011, in which he posted career highs in batting average (.305), runs scored (102), hits (201), home runs (18) and runs batted in (84). The switch-hitter ranked in the top 10 in the American League in batting average, hits, runs scored, triples and doubles. He also stole 20 bases and had 13 outfield assists in center field. Clearly, the Giants picked Cabrera while his stock is on the rise.

However, questions abound about whether his performance will translate to a new league. He did play one season with the Atlanta Braves in 2010, but Cabrera seemed to struggle that year in adapting to the National League. He logged a career-low four home runs, to go with a .255 batting average and an apathetic .671 OPS. Was that an aberration, or is that a sign of what’s in store for Cabrera’s return to the NL? How will he perform hitting in the tortuous AT&T Park?

Evidently, San Francisco believes that Cabrera can make the necessary modifications to his game to succeed in the National League. With his strong arm, the Giants anticipate a seamless adjustment in patrolling the sometimes-difficult right field of AT&T Park. And his bat appears to be warm enough to ignite the Giants offense, hitting in the second spot in the order, ahead of power hitters Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey.

As long as he is able to get on base at a decent clip, the middle of the order will have significant success moving him and leadoff hitter Angel Pagan around the bases. Cabrera was not brought in to drive in 100 runs and be a middle-of-the-order hitter—the way Beltran was projected last season. All Cabrera has to do is maintain a level of consistency at the plate and in the outfield.

Additionally, if he can stay healthy for the entire season, that will be a tremendous lift for the Giants, who have struggled with aging, oft-injured veterans like Beltran, Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand and Cody Ross over the past couple of seasons.

Cabrera might struggle out of the gate this season—which wouldn’t be entirely unexpected. He’s a career .255 hitter in the month of April, and acclimating to the National League will only assist in a slow start. He has a career .264 batting average against the NL West, so do not anticipate huge numbers against divisional foes, particularly in pitchers' parks like PETCO Park and Dodger Stadium.

Though he definitely will not match last season’s impressive numbers, Cabrera will be able to contribute in other areas with his versatility both offensively and defensively. 

2012 Projection: .278 batting average, 15 home runs, 87 runs scored, 53 runs batted in, 23 stolen bases

Clay Hensley

Clay Hensley has had a somewhat up-and-down career in the MLB. From a promising rookie year out of the bullpen with the San Diego Padres, to a middling season in 2006 as a starter. Back to a reliever in 2007 and 2008, when he suffered through injuries and horrendous performances.

His last two seasons were spent in Florida with the Marlins, where he alternated a successful campaign in 2010 as a semi-closer with a role as a struggling semi-starter in 2011. With such a roller coaster of experience in the past several seasons, what will be Hensley’s fate with the Giants?

The bulk of the Giants’ bullpen remains intact from last season, with closer Brian Wilson expected to be back in fine form following a season filled with nagging injuries. Setup man Sergio Romo is raring to go, too.

Additionally, the Giants feature right-handed relievers Santiago Casilla, Guillermo Mota and Dan Otero. This makes Hensley’s flexibility as a long-reliever/spot starter valuable to San Francisco.

Right now, until the Giants actually require a fifth starter in the rotation, Hensley can step in for long-relief situations (when Barry Zito starts, of course), or if a starter happens to miss a start due to injury.

Hopefully, AT&T Park will provide Hensley with some comfort and help bring down his numbers. Unfortunately, in only career 17.1 innings pitched at AT&T, Hensley’s ERA is 4.67.

Look for Hensley to be one of the under-utilized relievers out of the Giants’ bullpen. After all, nearly the entire pitching staff returns from last season’s team. And until manager Bruce Bochy is comfortable with how to rotate Hensley off the bench, Hensley will see limited action—primarily in blowouts.

2012 Projections: 43 appearances, 4.00 ERA, potentially a couple spot starts

Angel Pagan

The X-factor for the San Francisco Giants this season is free agent acquisition Angel Pagan.

Interestingly, it’s not as though Pagan is filling big shoes left by former Giants center fielders Andres Torres and Aaron Rowand. It’s just that San Francisco expects big things from Pagan, in the form of jump-starting a Giants offense that ranked last in the National League in 2011 in runs scored (570) and on-base percentage (.303).

Much of those pathetic numbers can be attributed to poor performances at the top of the lineup. That’s where Pagan comes in.

The 30-year-old switch-hitting center fielder is expected to help generate some offense with his speed and on-base ability. Last season, in a disappointing year with the New York Mets, Pagan batted .262, with a .322 on-base percentage, 68 runs scored and 32 stolen bases—in only 123 games played.

Say what?

Yes, despite a somewhat dismal season for Pagan, his performance is indeed considered an upgrade for San Francisco. Thus, the pressure is on him to meet those standards—and exceed them.

If Pagan is able to get on base and create some offense with his legs—stealing bases and churning out triples in spacious AT&T Park—then he’ll be able to set up the big bats behind him. With both Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey back at full health in 2012, the Giants expect—no, mandate—more runs to be scored for their All-World starting pitchers.

The only question surrounding Pagan and his ability to ignite the Giants’ offense is, paradoxically, whether he can or not. After all, Pagan has only been a starter in the MLB for two seasons. Does his sample size really project to him being a prosperous offensive force? Is San Francisco really banking an improvement in run production on Angel Pagan?

Unequivocally, yes. They have to. And the best way to complement him and his abilities is trailing him with bona fide hitters like Sandoval, Posey and Melky Cabrera. If they are able to stay healthy, driving Pagan home won’t be that difficult.

All the Giants needs is a couple of extra runs throughout the season, turning 2-1 losses into 3-2 victories. Pagan can certainly make that happen.

Can’t he?

2012 Projections: .264 batting average, 77 runs scored, 41 runs batted in, 29 stolen bases

Ryan Theriot

Not much to expect out of Ryan Theriot.

Well, maybe.

The seven-year middle infielder was brought on as a free agent earlier this year, after securing a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals last season. In 2011, Theriot played in 132 games and batted .271 with 26 doubles and 47 runs batted in. Modest numbers for a utility infielder.

Much of the same is anticipated by San Francisco. But until second baseman Freddy Sanchez returns from injury, Theriot will undoubtedly provide some experience in the middle of the infield. It’s likely that he will receive the bulk of the playing time in Sanchez’ stead, but he can also serve as a backup at shortstop should Brandon Crawford falter in any way.

Theriot appears to fit nicely into the Giants’ formula—the style they play, the all-around team effort that permeates the clubhouse. He’s capable of handling the bat well, sacrificing runners over, and he has a decent eye at the plate. Though not the stealing threat he used to be, Theriot certainly exudes smart baserunning when called upon.

Furthermore, his experience on a championship team will mold with the Giants’ ambition to return to the postseason. He brings with him a decent glove—particularly at second base—and offers the Giants an additional right-handed bat off the bench. Though he does not wield any power, Theriot will be expected to move runners along, hit-and-run and make contact offensively.

San Francisco can’t really expect more out of him.

Theriot won’t have many—if any—crazy 4-for-4 performances with three runs scored and three doubles. But he’ll slide in effectively in the middle of the infield, particularly until Sanchez returns from the disabled list sometime in mid-April. What Theriot will provide is depth, a veteran presence and comfort, should youngsters Crawford or Emmanuel Burriss struggle.

Theriot will fit in in San Francisco. He’s a team player, and the Giants are full of them.

2012 Projections: .255 batting average, 36 runs scored, 39 runs batted in

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