Following a disappointing 2023 season in which they finished with a 79-83 record and fourth in the NL West, the San Francisco Giants enter the 2024 season in desperate need of returning to winning ways and making the postseason for the first time since 2021, when they finished with a mind-boggling 107-55 record and won the division title.
FanDuel has the Giants’ O/U set at 81.5 wins. Here are some reasons why they will surpass that mark.
2024 San Francisco Giants O/U: Why the Giants Will Hit the OVER
Fresh Faces
Following last year’s underwhelming performance, the Giants decided to fire manager Gabe Kapler and replace him with one of the longest-tenured managers in baseball, former Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin.
On top of this managerial change, the Giants have been very active during the offseason, headlined by the signing of South Korean superstar Jung-hoo Lee. They also signed catcher Tom Murphy, reliever Jordan Hicks, outfielder Jorge Soler, and third baseman Matt Chapman, and traded for starter Robbie Ray. These aren’t blockbuster acquisitions by any means, but they will definitely help solidify a Giants’ lineup in need of help on offense.
In addition, they also re-signed outfielders Austin Slater, Mike Yastrzemski, and LaMonte Wade Jr., second baseman Thairo Estrada, and reliever Tyler Rogers. The Giants don’t have a stacked roster like the Los Angeles Dodgers do, but this has never been a problem for this team. They finished the 2021 season with the best record in the team’s long history without having a roster full of superstars. We’ll have to wait and see how this season unfolds.
Rotation Has Huge Upside
The Giants’ rotation might not be the best of the bunch, but a big reason behind that stems from the fact that most of it is filled with young, unproven pitchers. Logan Webb leads the unit, coming off a 2023 season where he led the majors with a total of 216 innings pitched and finished second in the NL Cy Young voting, being the Giants’ best player of the season. He is expected to keep up the good performance heading into 2024.
Behind him, Alex Cobb and Sean Hjelle will miss the Opening Day roster due to injury, but once they come back, they’ll add immense value to the rotation. Cobb, 36, is a 13-year veteran in the majors and was San Francisco’s second-best pitcher last season, registering a 7-7 record with a 3.87 ERA and 131 strikeouts over 151.1 innings pitched. On his part, Hjelle, 26, is a former No. 26 prospect in the Giants’ farm system and will hope to return to his good performances in the minor leagues.
Further down the order, we find Kyle Harrison, an excellent yet unproven prospect who was ranked among the top 20 prospects before the 2023 season per MLB.com. Completing the order are Jordan Hicks and Keaton Winn, two former relievers who the Giants have decided to play as starters to begin the season. It’s a gutsy move by Bob Melvin, especially considering both of these pitchers are known for hitting triple digits with their fastballs, sacrificing their durability. The arrival of Robbie Ray will likely mean one of them will be demoted to the bullpen, though. But this rotation is a great mix of experienced and young starters and could take the team very far if it plays out as intended.
Expectations Are Low
FanDuel has set the Giants O/U at just 81.5. The team has failed to hit this mark over the past two seasons but has fallen just short of it, hitting 81 wins in 2022 and 79 in 2023. Offseason acquisitions and managerial changes should help the team dramatically improve its performance, and the low O/U set gives them more leeway to do so. This team should be much better than it was for the past two seasons and should have no problem getting over 81.5 wins this season.
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