San Francisco Giants: Mid-Season Predictions for October

At exactly the midway point in the season, now that the defending world champion San Francisco Giants have played 81 games, it's inevitable that in the back of some Giants fans' minds there will be some prognostication going on about what the second half will yield for the men in orange and black.

What will the baseball world look like come October? Will the Giants be in the playoff mix? What are their chances of repeating as champs?

Let's do some prognosticating of our own, shall we?

The Giants Will Lead the National League in ERA (3.29)

The Giants led the National League (and all of baseball, for that matter) in team ERA last season, at 3.36. The Giants are poised to repeat as ERA champions in 2011.

Look for San Francisco to top the league, and perhaps the majors, in overall staff ERA, around 3.29.

Tim Lincecum Will Lead the N.L. in Strikeouts for the 4th Straight Season

Tim Lincecum has led the N.L. in strikeouts in each of his first three full big league seasons.  There's no reason to think he won't capture the K-crown for the league in 2011.

Despite struggling in the month of June, Lincecum will put June behind him much like he did August last season, and finish as dominant as ever.

Look for Lincecum to finish with 248 punch-outs.

Madison Bumgarner Will Finish with 13 Wins

Madison Bumgarner has been a hard-luck loser for the Giants in the first half of the season.

Despite his 4-9 record to start the year, MadBum will finish 13-15 after a stellar second half in which he dominates the way he did in the 2010 postseason.

Barry Zito Will Go into the Bullpen, Finish with 2.98 ERA

Ah, the Barry Zito problem.

What do the Giants do now that Zito has returned from the disabled list after sustaining a foot injury in April?  Ryan Vogelsong has locked up the fifth starter role after his fantastic first half (currently 6-1, 2.09 ERA).

The Giants will put Zito in the pen, and without the pressure of performing up to par with the likes of Lincecum, Cain, and now Vogelsong, Zito will thrive.

He will finish the season with an ERA under 3, and will prove an effective weapon in middle relief, enabling him to make the postseason roster instead of watching the playoffs from the bench as he did in 2010.

Brandon Belt Will Finish with a .289 BA, 10 HR, 41 RBI

After a difficult start to his big league career (.211 BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI), Brandon Belt's return to the big leagues was cut short after he was hit by a pitch in the wrist, causing it to fracture.

But after Belt returns a second time, he will hit well, solidifying the middle of the lineup out of the number five slot and helping a thus-far anemic Giants offense get enough runs to support San Francisco's pitching.

Despite Hand Pain, Sandoval Will Finish with a .295 BA, 17 HR, 63 RBI

Pablo Sandoval opened the season on fire, hitting well over .300 with 5 home runs in just the first six weeks of play.

After returning from surgery to fix a broken bone in his hand, Sandoval will have to deal with ongoing pain the rest of the season.

Still, he'll contribute offensively, and get ever so close to the .300 mark by season's end.

San Francisco's Offense Will Finish 10th out of 16 National League Teams

The Giants' offense finished ninth out of 16 N.L. teams last year, and that was enough to carry the club to and through a postseason that resulted in a world championship.

This season the Giants will finish in a very similar spot, tenth in the N.L. in offense, while the pitching finishes at the top of the league.

The Giants Will Win 93 Games and the N.L. West by 4 Games over the Rockies

The Giants will win one more game than they did last year, and will win the division by a larger margin.

The Diamondbacks' run early in the season won't last, and the Rockies will make a characteristic late-season playoff push, but it won't be enough to overcome a comfortable lead built on San Francisco's pitching.

The Giants will be in the postseason to defend their World Series title in 2011.