Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Giants

 

The Giants this year were the antithesis to the Dodgers, for those weary of the Dodgers' despotic rule over the league. The Giants paid a lot of money to make their team great this year, and they still manage to finish in fourth place. Not everyone's as perfect as the L.A. brass, it seems.

I think the biggest summation of their season was Jung Hoo Lee. Huge star in the Korean leagues, signed to a big contract and expected to be a big piece of the team going forward. The 25-year-old center fielder had a slow start, but by mid-May he was beginning to get the hang of the majors, hitting .267 with 38 hits, 8 RBIs and 2 homers. Then he gets his shoulder injured, is out for the rest of the season, and the Grandson of Wind is lost for the rest of his rookie season. As usual in San Francisco, 'so much for that'.

2025 Prediction: Well barring further catastrophe, he's gonna hit .300 and be everything he was supposed to be, just a year late. 

Because of the hit to the rotation early in the season, Kyle Harrison went from a lower-tier 'we'll give him a shot' type from 2023 to one of the most crucial rotation pieces of the season for the Giants. And ultimately, with how beat up the rotation would be all year, even while missing 9 games he still made the 2nd-most starts of anyone, behind Logan Webb. Harrison was, at the very least, durable, with 7 wins and 118 Ks, plus a 4.56 ERA, in 24 starts. His first half was better than his second half, because I think the strain started getting to him. 

2025 Prediction: Lower ERA, though I think being one or two pegs lower in the rotation will do him better at 24.

Though Tyler Fitzgerald would be the more noteworthy infield addition, Brett Wisely's presence in the infield schematic changed things dramatically, and provided an alternative to the now-waning Thairo Estrada experiment. Wisely's biggest perk is his defensive versatility, as he was an above-average infield threat at both 2B and SS, settling in at 2nd to round out the year. He's not THE BEST at the plate, only hitting .238 this year with 31 RBIs in 91 games, but he's a very handy guy to have around.

2024 Prediction: The Giants have answers at 1st, Short and 3rd, and I reckon they're gonna plug in a free agent at 2nd. Wisely will be better off as a utility guy, but he'll have some cool moments next year.

Three years after a massive come-up, Camilo Doval found himself demoted after fumbling the closing job.  The 26 year old came off of a season where he led the NL in saves, and now was struggling not to blow any, despite finishing the year with 23. The earned runs just grew this year, he had a 4.88 ERA after never finishing a season under 3. He's young enough to turn it around, but in a year where Emmanuel Clase, his closest contemporary, got even stronger, Doval took a huge step back.

2025 Prediction: Narrowly secures the ninth again, and has a better year of it. I expect a few more human moments but not as many as 2024. 

The relief duo of Taylor and Tyler Rogers continues to be one of the most fun aspects of these teams, because once again both of them were excellent, consistent and equally powerful. Taylor had the more traditionally dominant season, with a 2.40 ERA and 64 Ks in as many games. Tyler, meanwhile, led the team in appearances with 77, had a 2.82 ERA with 51 Ks, and a much lower 1.038 WHIP. It's really cool that these are two fundamentally different pitchers in terms of approach, yet they're still brothers who have some similar tendencies. 

2025 Prediction: Tyler's gonna have the better season again, but I think Taylor might be dealt at the deadline if things don't go SF's way again.

So, to recap, the Mariners dealt Robbie Ray to the Giants in exchange for Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani, Disco didn't pitch a game with either team he was traded to, Haniger was subpar all year, and Robbie Ray only made 7 starts. But...to me, the Giants still win the trade because the 7 starts of Robbie Ray that they did get were honestly pretty damn good. Barring two light-ups, Ray only gave up 1 or 2 runs during most of his starts, and went 5 hitless innings upon being activated in July. He finished the year with a 4.70 ERA, a 3-2 record and 43 Ks. We are slowly getting back to peak Robbie Ray.

2025 Prediction: For the first time since 2022, this guy really feels untouchable.

In all the shuffling of injured starters, a promising rookie that got a taste late in the year was Hayden Birdsong, a 22-year-old prospect drafted late in the 2022 draft. Birdsong got 16 starts in the majors, and held a 4.75 ERA with 88 Ks. Clearly this is a young kid getting his feet wet, but there were some tremendous starts this year, like his 5th one, where he went 6 inning against the Rockies, and struck out 12 while only giving up 2 runs. That, hopefully, will be closer to the norm for Birdsong going forward.

2025 Prediction: The Giants have several immovables near the top of the rotation next year, people like Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Kyle Harrison, then Jordan Hicks. So theoretically there is room for Birdsong in the 2025 rotation, and I think he makes it thanks to a strong spring. I also think he's gonna make a name for self with this season in a way people aren't expecting.

The sole real splash the Giants made at the trade deadline was bringing Mark Canha over from Detroit, which would, in itself, make more room for Parker Meadows over there. Kind of a win-win. Canha was solid in 32 games as a 1st base fill-in for LaMonte Wade, hitting .288 with 21 hits and 4 RBIs. More importantly, Canha's big contribution was sampling some of the dirt at the Coliseum after playing in the last Bay Area series there. He's played for both teams now, and it's very important to him.

2025 Prediction: I honestly think the A's should sign him, that'd be a draw for the Sacramento crowd. 

Coming Tomorrow- Several key members of a Guardians team very close to going the distance.