Youth Movement: Budding Young Stars of the San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants have carried this stigma of being a veteran-loving team for a while now. From the Aaron Rowand deal and management's faith in him through thick and thin, to the Miguel Tejada acquisition, to the insistence on playing Bengie Molina while Buster Posey waited in the wings, there have been many veteran-caused frustrations over the years for Giants fans. 

But no more! Read on for a look at some of the young stars of San Francisco who will be big contributors next year and make the Giants a top NL team for years to come.

Brandon Belt

Last Season: .225/.306/.412, 63 games played

Belt is expected to split time in left field and at first base. That still remains to be seen as Aubrey Huff was out of shape last season, and is expected to be motivated and fit going into training camp.

The 1B job should be Belt's for several reasons. First of all, it is likely that the Giants have nothing to gain by playing Huff anyways. The guy is 34 and it's highly unlikely he ever comes close to his 2010 form again. 

Second, Belt played in 63 games, almost a third of Huff's playing time last season, 150 games. During that time, Belt had a higher SLG percentage, the same OBP, and a slightly lower batting average, all while he was being shuffled back and forth between the minors and big leagues.

The argument could be made, that with a third of Huff's playing time, Belt already outperformed him, so fans can only imagine what a full season of Brandon Belt would be like. 

Third, this guy's power is just starting to develop. .412 SLG in limited, inconsistent time in the majors with 9 home runs last year, while Huff had 12 home runs the whole year.

The big fly is a specialty of Belt's, and I fully expect him to become a 20+ home run hitter as he gets more playing time and development.

In addition to being a power hitter, Belt is also a patient power hitter, something the Giants could always use more of.

Brandon Crawford

Last Season: .204/.288/.296, 66 games played

Despite his sub-par performance last year, I'm optimistic on Crawford's production for next season. I'm having a hard time understanding why people are so down on this guy.

He is already a terrific defensive shortstop, and with enough time to develop in the majors, Crawford will turn into a great contact hitter.

I've heard fans saying Crawford would be bad enough to hit as low as .220 in a full season, but I would be surprised if he ended the season lower than .260.

And no matter what happens, the absolute worst thing the Giants could do to Crawford and his development would be to shuffle him to the minors as soon as he slumps, the way they did with Belt.

Stick with Crawford, and he won't disappoint.

Madison Bumgarner

Last Season: 13-13, 3.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .260 BAA

After an average year, Bumgarner is one of the players who will really come into his own next season and turn into a consistent high-end starter.

His stat line is not indicative of how well he really pitched last season. I would expect 15-20 wins this year, as Bumgarner will have gotten used to pitching a lot of innings, making the arm fatigue he likely suffered from last year a thing of the past.

After owning the worst run support of any pitcher in the National League and having a lot of quality outings wasted, Bum will benefit greatly from the offensive additions San Francisco has made, along with the return of...

Buster Posey

Last Season: .284/.368/.389, 45 games played

I don't think I can overstate how big the return of Buster Posey is to the Giants. In addition to his much-needed bat coming back to the lineup, Posey brings defensive prowess back to the catcher position.

One of my favorite moments as a Giants fan watching and listening to games, is when Posey guns down a would-be base stealer at second. Nothing like it.

There is talk of Buster playing at first base on his off days, as his bat must stay in the lineup, but I would look at playing him at shortstop or third before adding to the logjam at first.

Although it is impossible to predict how Posey will do when he comes back, I believe that he will bat around .280 and .290, with 20+ home runs, and close to 100 RBI with a high SLG percentage. 

Brett Pill

Last Season: .300/.321/.560, 15 games played.

Pill is probably the guy I am most excited to see at the start of the new season. He is one of the most polished hitters that the Giants have right now, and he adds another power bat to the team.

I've heard comparisons of Pill to John Bowker and Kevin Frandsen, career minor-league hitters who couldn't really cut it in the majors. But I have to disagree there.

In many more games and years played on big-league clubs, neither Bowker or Frandsen has ever come close to the average or slugging percentage that Pill produced as a September call-up. Yes, 15 games is a very small sample size, but the production is still something to be considered. 

The competition for the starting first-base job will be crowded next season, and I see things being a little tougher for Pill because he doesn't play multiple positions, the way Belt and Huff can play both first and left field.

But regardless of whoever is in the lineup for Opening Day, the Giants need to find a way to get Pill in there.

Pablo Sandoval

Last Season: .315/.357/.552, 117 games played

Frankly, the Panda did surprisingly well last year, considering the relative lack of protection in the lineup, and the fact that he carried the load and was the Giants' best hitter for much of the year.

Plate discipline is something Pablo could still improve on, but I question whether that is really necessary, since he has shown himself to be a great bad-ball hitter, similar to Vlad Guerrero. Why mess with a good thing?

I would expect Pablo to be in great shape for the 2012 season. Having already witnessed the benefits himself from last year, fans should continue to see a more nimble and high-powered Panda.

Provided that he stays fit, I would expect Pablo to bat around .300, with 25 home runs and definitely 100 RBI, becoming a mainstay for San Francisco in the 3 spot.