Fantasy Baseball: Pick Up San Francisco Giants Starting Pitcher Ryan Vogelsong

The San Francisco Giants have gotten off to a semi-slow start in their 2012 season, holding a 1-3 record through four games. Much of the finger pointing can be aimed at San Francisco’s vaunted starting rotation, which, save for Barry Zito’s incredible (incredulous) shutout victory on Monday, has taken the brunt of the beating so far this season.

Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain each were shelled in their respective first starts of the year. The trio combined to give up 14 runs in 15.1 innings—a staggering 8.22 ERA. Who would’ve thought that the Giants’ starting pitchers would be the team’s Achilles’ heel thus far?

More importantly, fantasy baseball owners have been excruciatingly up in arms over the Giants’ lackluster pitching performances. That grumbling is the collective sound of fantasy owners checking the updates on their smartphones, seeing Lincecum, Bumgarner and Cain give up a combined six home runs in their three starts.

For those of you who have any one of these three pitchers on your roster, it’s nearly impossible that they’ll continue with these horrid performances—just as it’s equally implausible for Zito to continue the torrid pitching from his lone start. But for owners aspiring to bolster their pitching staffs early on this fantasy season, the Bizarro World that is the Giants' starting rotation looks to regain some semblance of balance with the return of Ryan Vogelsong.

The veteran right-hander landed on the 15-day disabled list to begin the season, a result of back spasms that he experienced during spring training. In an effort to ease him back into the fold, Vogelsong was sent to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate to sneak in a couple of rehab starts. Including Tuesday night’s appearance, Vogelsong started two games for the Fresno Grizzlies, compiling a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings of work, allowing nine hits and four bases on balls to go with 12 strikeouts.

This effort is more than enough to show San Francisco that he’s ready to return to the Giants as soon as possible. SFGate.com notes that the Giants will likely activate Vogelsong from the disabled list some time this weekend, making him eligible to slide back into the rotation and start his first MLB game of the season, at home on Sunday, against the Pittsburgh Pirates—great news for Giants fans.

It’s also solid news for those fantasy owners who happened to pick up Vogelsong in their fantasy drafts to start the season. Knowing that he would miss the first couple weeks in April should not have scared too many away from drafting him, and it appears now to have been a wise selection.

Vogelsong is coming off a magical 2011 campaign that saw him post 13 wins, a 2.71 ERA and 139 strikeouts, earning him an All-Star selection after having not pitched in the majors for four seasons.

After such a superlative performance, fantasy owners have modest hopes for Vogelsong, considering he produced career-high marks as a 33-year-old. Most fantasy draft experts still had him projected as a sleeper pick as a starting pitcher, despite such impressive numbers last season.

FantasyBaseballDugout.com had him listed as the 68th-best starting pitcher behind Bud Norris (Houston Astros), while NYDailyNews.com ranked him 69th behind Clay Buchholz (Los Angeles Dodgers).

To be sure, as long as Vogelsong stays healthy, he’ll put up some solid numbers. With the pitcher-friendly confines of AT&T Park, his stat line should remain impressive as far as ERA, hits allowed and home runs allowed are concerned. (Put him in your lineup anytime San Francisco has a long home stand. Last year, Vogelsong recorded an eye-popping 2.15 ERA in 17 appearances at AT&T Park. Look for him to continue that success in 2012.)

The only blip on the forecasting radar will be whether he’ll be able to accumulate a significant number of wins, given the Giants’ miniscule run production.

Last season saw San Francisco score 5.06 runs every time Vogelsong took the mound. But with catcher Buster Posey in the everyday lineup again in 2012, and a healthy and reinvigorated Pablo Sandoval capable of swinging a hot bat, there should be enough run support to back Vogelsong in his starts.

Given that Vogelsong is not exactly a threatening strikeout pitcher, most of the points he accumulates for your fantasy team will be through victories and, secondarily, innings pitched. Last season, Vogelsong averaged 6.25 innings per start—but wins are the name of the game, and if Vogelsong can muster as many wins as he did in 2011, he’ll be a solid No. 3 or 4 starter for your fantasy team.

In points-based leagues, Vogelsong’s stats may not jump off the computer screen—but he’ll factor in where it matters most, which will be wins. He could also be successful if you are a part of rotisserie leagues, as his ERA and WHIP totals could be enough to keep your team competitive in the long run. However, head-to-head leagues might be more suited for Vogelsong, as he is more of a tweener who looks better on paper against certain matchups.

The moral of the story is that Vogelsong is expected to return to the Giants rotation this weekend, and that bodes well for the team because they are amped to have a five-armed starting rotation again. Anticipate some bounce back in their steps when Vogelsong rejoins the lines.

Meanwhile, for fantasy owners, if you have Vogelsong on your roster, you would be savvy to insert him into the lineup at your earliest convenience. He’s a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter who can put up surprising numbers, especially when he’s pitching at home.

If Vogelsong is somehow still on the waiver wire because he wasn’t picked up as the result of his DL stint to start the season, pick him up now while you still can.

Keep in mind you could do worse: You could plug in Barry Zito.

Er, wait...

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