The San Francisco Giants should come alive in the last few months of the season. With the rotation filling up, the offense staying consistent and the “easiest schedule in baseball,” San Francisco is in a prime position to lead the pack in a close National League.
San Francisco Giants Second-Half Forecast
The Starting Rotation
Led by their ace, Logan Webb, the Giants’ pitching will look significantly better over the next couple of weeks. Webb has proved over the last five years that he can stay healthy and the Giants can count on him for roughly 200 innings per season. The rest of the rotation was a big question mark going into Spring Training.
Jordan Hicks’ 4-year, $44 million deal came with the intention of turning him into a starter. He has done very well so far but is admittedly running out of gas, already having thrown more innings in the first half of the season than ever before. With both Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray coming off the injured list and soon making their 2024 debuts, Hicks will likely be sent to the bullpen. He should be able to build up each year and be more of a traditional starter in the future but, thankfully, the Giants can replace his spot soon.
Kyle Harrison, the 22-year-old lefty who made his debut last season, has also recently come back from injury. He is 5-4 with a 3.86 earned run average and has been reliable to give the Giants a chance against tough opposing lineups.
The Giants’ return to good health and an intimidating pitching staff wouldn’t be complete without Blake Snell. While he started the season late and with very disappointing stuff, he is feeling more confident going into the second half. He took a long time rehabbing from his injuries when the Giants didn’t have time to lose, but he’s back now and already looks better. In his first start since June 2nd, Snell gave up only one hit in five innings. In his other post-break start on July 14th, he carried a perfect game into the seventh and gave up only one hit in that appearance as well. It’s safe to say he’s back and if he stays at this caliber, the Giants will be happy with him going into the end of the season.
They also have rookie Hayden Birdsong, who made his Major League debut less than a month ago and looks like he belongs. He may be sent back to Triple-A soon when the Giants no longer reek of desperation, but they could also try a 6-man rotation or a piggy-back situation to let somebody get more rest. These things have a tendency to work themselves out through injury or terrible performances but, if all goes well, the Giants will have plenty of arms the rest of the way.
Offense
The Giants offense might not intimidate too many teams, as they’re 4th in the National League West and a few games under .500, where they’ve been most of the season. According to Baseball Reference, the Giants at a 10.3% chance of making the postseason. However, with how much better the pitching will be in the second half, plus some offensive hurdles already jumped, that number should be much higher as they near the end of the regular season. Their team batting average is .244 which ties them with the Cleveland Guardians, who are first in the AL Central and have a record of 59-37. If you look at it that way, they’re batting pretty well. Their hitting stats are all around 15th in the MLB, putting them in the middle of the pack. The problem is that all of the National League is pretty mediocre this season and almost any team can earn a Wild Card spot. That does make the game more interesting by keeping fan bases intrigued and hopeful, but it also rewards mediocrity.
Whether or not the Giants will play better in the next couple of months is uncertain, but they are in a good position to do so. Jorge Soler moving from the heart of the order to the leadoff spot has increased his production, especially since the bottom of the lineup has been reliable recently. Most of the Giants at-bats are well fought and things just aren’t going their way. Anybody could say that, but the proof is in the pudding; They’re in seventh place out of all 30 teams in walks this season, with 323 so far. As for batting, they average 4.5 runs per game, which is less than half a run behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. Overall, the Giants have been more consistent than their record would lead you to assume. Production is coming from everyone and all they need is a good winning streak.
The Final Months
A winning streak is likely, as the Giants have the easiest second-half schedule out of every team. That’s not to say that winning a game is easy. Although record-wise, if they stay consistent, the Giants’ future looks really good on paper. They start off with a series against the Rockies, Dodgers, and A’s. The Rockies and A’s both have under 40 wins and are just plain sad. The Dodgers are still a powerhouse, but have multiple injuries and haven’t been playing well the whole month. After that, the Giants play the Reds, Nationals, and Tigers, who are all under .500 as well. No games are automatically won, but if they can take advantage of less powerful opponents, they will be back on track. They’re only three games out of a Wild Card spot and the end of the season is in sight. Whether or not young players coming up and new management with a fresh perspective will lead the 2024 San Francisco Giants to the playoffs is yet to be known. But one thing is for sure; It’s now or never.
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