2021 proved that Kaplerball could work in San Francisco. 2022 proved that it had its limits. And 2023 proved that maybe Kaplerball didn't lead to long-term success if it led to a largely-unknown Giants team that had to rely on secondhand guys to do the heavy lifting rather than many of their homegrown guys.
The Giants actually had a strong run midyear, and were making a definite run at a playoff spot, but were hindered by a lot of injuries to big pieces, as well as being completely outmatched by Arizona and LA. Hell, by the end, the Padres got more September momentum than the Giants, and relegated them to 4th place. And with that, Kaplerball was over, Bob Melvin headed back to Northern California, and the team will be starting over next year.
I think one of the big discrepancies in the Giants' 2023 story was the GM's want to get contracts while Kapler's whole approach was playing moneyball. Remember, before the injury scared people away, Carlos Correa had signed a huge, multi-year deal in San Francisco, and even if that was voided, the Giants were linked to Aaron Judge [or his long lost cousin Arson]. Eventually they settled for Michael Conforto, who had mostly recovered from injuries sustained following the 2021 season. Conforto still missed about a month of play, and only hit .239 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs, which isn't the best showing from someone the Giants figured would be a marquee star, especially in the wake of Correa and Judge not happening. I will add that Concerto's 58 RBIs was the third highest amount on the Giants. Funnily enough, the 2nd and 1st in RBI, Wilmer Flores and J.D. Davis, are also ex-Mets.
2024 Prediction: A much better year that will lead to A.) a midyear trade to a competition, B.) a team giving him a nice amount of money on a contract post-2024, or C.) both.
The other guy the Giants signed during the offseason to amount for not getting Judge was Mitch Haniger, a hard-hitting ex-Mariners outfielder who always gets injured. Take a wild guess what happened. Limited to 61 games, Haniger only hit 6 home runs with a .209 average.
2024 Prediction: He will hit more than 6 home runs. But he will not play 150 games.
One of the coolest things the Giants did this year was reunite the Rogers brothers in the same bullpen. Tyler Rogers had been a mainstay for the Giants, his brother Taylor had a rough year in 2022 between the Padres and Brewers. Bringing them together was a plan that worked for both brothers, and for the bullpen as a whole. Taylor, out of the ninth for the first time in several years thanks to Camilo Doval, was a lot better-implemented in middle relief, with a 3.83 ERA, 64 Ks and a 1.239 WHIP. I think roles like these can be good for him before somebody slots him back into a closing role.
2024 Prediction: Will save a few games but has a complete return-to-form year as a relief piece.
Meanwhile, Taylor's side-armer brother Tyler continued his impressive run in SF, leading the team in IP, and notching a 3.04 ERA with 60 Ks and a 1.149 WHIP. Rogers is the most statistically impressive of the brothers, even if he's the most anonymous, but he's really become a big piece of these Giants bullpens, and given a new approach he'll probably continue to impress.
2024 Prediction: Will come down a bit from this year but still make all his marks.
Sean Manaea had some great seasons for the A's back before he wore out his arm too much. The past two seasons have been the result of hard-throwing habits in his 20s, and I really don't think there's much else for Manaea to do. The Giants had Manaea start for 10 games, realized he wasn't as good anymore, and eventually allowed him to work long relief. Though the relief appearances did patch his ERA, he ended with a 4.44, and a 1.241 WHIP.
2024 Prediction: A lower-key team brings him on and he does what he can, though his days of primetime moments might be behind him.
This was a good year for rookies in the Giants' system finally helping the MLB cause. Their smartest call-up might have been Ryan Walker, a 27-year-old who, fun fact, has the exact same birthdate as I do [down to the year], who'd been a minor league mainstay for a while. Walker became the Giants' flex piece, starting some games, being in for long relief and staying til the end. Alongside his versatility, Walker finished the year with a 3.23 ERA and 68 strikeouts.
2024 Prediction: An expanded role, possibly as a relief piece but perhaps even starting more games. Either way, the Giants are gonna pick a role for Walker and stick with it.
The theme of several Giants' call-ups from this year was that their defensive abilities were awesome but they hadn't figured out how to hit in the majors yet. Luis Matos didn't even have much defensive ability to speak for. The 21-year-old was speedy, and did what he could in center, but he only hit .250 and struggled even as a contact bat.
2024 Prediction: Of all the Giants' rookies that struggled offensively this year, Matos has the best chance of finally coming into his own.
Meanwhile, Kyle Harrison was a late pitching call-up that got off to some excellent work almost immediately, with 6 shutout innings and 11 strikeouts in his second-ever career start against the similarly struggling Reds. Harrison eventually evened out to a 4.15 ERA with 35 Ks, and it was a beginning to a career that instilled the fans with confidence going forward, especially considering the number of older starting options still hanging around.
2024 Prediction: 10 wins, Rookie of the Year votes, talks of a larger contract.
And with all the new blood entering this team, it's hard to face the fact that Brandon Crawford, the last remaining survivor of the Bochy-ball runs of the early-2010s, might have played his last game as a Giant. Crawford, at 36, didn't have much left to prove, and hit below .200 in 93 games, but it was important for him to ride out his last season under the contract, and he got to leave on a heroic note.
2024 Prediction: I kinda think he'll retire, mostly because I can't really imagine him wanting to suit up for anyone else.
Coming Tomorrow- A few remainders of a very strange season in Cleveland.
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