Giants: 2017 Fantasy Baseball Preview
By Bill Pivetz
AL East: BAL, BOS, NYY, TB, TOR
NL East: ATL, NYM, PHI, MIA, WAS
AL Central: KC, CWS, DET, CLE, MIN
NL Central: STL, PIT, CHC, MIL, CIN
AL West: SEA, LAA, TEX, OAK, HOU
NL West: LAD
The San Francisco Giants made the necessary moves to improve an already great team. The team’s best fantasy value could be in the rotation.
The San Francisco Giants have been one of the best overall teams over the last seven seasons. They finished first or second in the NL West in six of the seven seasons, including three World Series titles. The Giants have been a symbol of consistency. This season could be a bit of a drop, but there is still fantasy value on this team.
The Giants didn’t lose much on offense to free agency. Most of their losses came from the bullpen. They lost both of their closers in Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla and veteran relievers Joe Nathan and Javier Lopez (retired). The best hitter they lost is Angel Pagan. Looking at his 2016 numbers, they have that on their roster already.
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The Giants offense wasn’t the best for fantasy. There was not a single hitter reach 20 home runs, 90 RBI, .300 average or 20 steals. I use those numbers because they are milestones for valuable players.
I could have stretched it to 30 homers and 100 RBI, but the separation would have been even greater.
The Giants brought in two veteran pitchers. One had a good season while the other seemed to be on the decline of his career. When they arrived in San Francisco, they seemed to have increased their fantasy value.
AT&T Park did not favor the hitters for home runs, ranked 30th, but finished seventh in hits and 13th in runs. The Giants hitters will be void of power but will tack on hits and runs.
I have 11 Giants players ranked in my top 300. Let’s talk about them and the supporting cast.
Four of the five Giants starting pitchers are ranked inside my top 250. The rotation will be Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore, and Matt Cain.
Bumgarner is one of the few constants in fantasy baseball. The extra usage in the playoffs hasn’t hurt him. He had a 2.74 ERA, 1.028 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 15-9 record. There isn’t much more I can say about Bumgarner that you don’t already know. He will be drafted in the second round.
Cueto won 18 games with the Giants. He paired that with a 2.79 ERA and 1.093 WHIP. He recorded 198 strikeouts and 45 walks in 219.2 innings. I don’t see anything that will cause a rise in his ratio stats. A sub-3.00 ERA and sub-1.10 WHIP is likely. He is my No. 16 starting pitcher as a fifth round pick.
I wrote about Samardzija possibly repeating his 2016 season here. While a 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP aren’t ideal, they are better than his 2015 numbers. I think there will be some improvements to his ratio stats, as long as he can limit base runners. He is my No. 44 pitcher.
I also wrote about Matt Moore and his sleeper status for 2017 here. The Giants acquired Moore at the trade deadline last season. In 12 starts with the team, he had a 4.08 ERA, 1.332 WHIP, and a 6-5 record. A full season in the National League will help his ratio stats. He is my No. 64 pitcher.
Cain didn’t pitch well last season, posting an ERA over 5.50. There are plenty of other pitchers to draft.
The Giants signing Mark Melancon was a big surprise. With two relievers available to close, the front office decided to move and go elsewhere for someone’s ninth inning services.
In a split season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals, Melancon posted a 1.64 ERA, 0.897 WHIP, and 47 saves. He is familiar with the NL and pitches well in the league. The NL West features two poor offenses and two good ones. As my No. 6 closer, I expect great success for him.
Behind him will be Hunter Strickland. In 61 innings last season, he had a 3.10 ERA, 1.131 WHIP, and three saves. He also had 8.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. Unless something happens to Melancon, he will be strictly a set-up man. He’ll have value in holds or NL-only leagues.
The Giants infield is good, not great. Except for Buster Posey at catcher, the other four infielders all rank between 15 and 25 in their respective positions.
Posey is my No. 1 catcher. He has the track record to back it up. There are some up-and-coming catchers that could take his spot in a couple of years, but not in 2017. Posey hit 14 home runs, 80 RBI, and .288 in 146 games last season.
There will be plenty of fantasy owners over-reaching for Posey when there are good catchers late in drafts.
Brandon Belt is the first baseman. He is a solid option at the position with double-digit home runs and a .275 average. He is a starter in NL-only or 16-team leagues but will fit better as a corner infielder in standard leagues.
Joe Panik was bad last season. He finished No. 361 overall on the Player Rater. My colleague Brad Kelly dove into his 2016 season and what it means. He ranks outside my top 20 among second baseman.
Brandon Crawford posted great numbers across the board. He hit .275 (there seems to be a trend with the Giants hitters) with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs, and 84 RBI. He is my No. 16 shortstop with potential for top 10.
Kelly also wrote about Nunez and his breakout last season. Between the Minnesota Twins and Giants, he hit .288, 16 home runs (12 with the Twins) and 67 RBI with 40 steals. I like the speed because the Giants don’t have a lot of speed in their lineup. I think the power was a fluke and will finish with 10 to 12. With shortstop and third base eligibility, he is my No. 17 third baseman.
Two-thirds of the Giants outfield do not have any fantasy value.
The only one I’m going to talk about at length is Hunter Pence. He had a down season, playing in only 106 games. In that span, he hit 13 home runs, 57 RBI, and .289. He recently had to slow down his workouts and will be reevaluated when he reports to Spring Training.
He’s been hurt the last two seasons, so owners are hoping it’s nothing major. I can’t rank him too high because of this. He is my No. 64 outfielder. If he gets a clean bill of health, then he may move into the top 60.
The other two outfielders are Jarrett Parker and Denard Span. Span was decent, hitting .266 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI. You can find those numbers from a lot of different players, though.
The San Francisco Giants are a great team in real life, but it does not transition into fantasy baseball very well. The starting pitchers, closer, and catcher have the most value. The infielders are mid-to-late draft fliers and the outfield is barely draftable currently.
Those players are worth keeping an eye on because they could be important waiver adds throughout the season.