Somewhat unsurprisingly, the Giants have stumbled a little out of the gate after competing for the last few years. They still have enough pieces to compete, and made sure of this during the offseason by signing Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea and Taylor Rogers. But with the Dodgers and Padres still better put together, the Diamondbacks now surging, and even more pieces from the now-distant 2021 team gone, it's a bit harder for them to really stand out in this division.
Now, on one hand, them not having as many big guns as usual isn't the worst thing, because the way Gabe Kapler operates, anybody can be a big piece of this Giants team, as Thairo Estrada, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski, Jakob Junis, and now Blake Sabol, have become big pieces while coming from other systems. Hell, pulling off the move of trading Darin Ruf for J.D. Davis, waiting for him to absolutely suck in another system and get DFA'd, then bringing him back for basically nothing and watching him get back to what he was doing in the bay is a damn near Cashman-esque move.
Also, it occurs to me now that Kaplerball in SF is a way less infuriating version of what Kevin Cash has been doing in Tampa, but maybe that's because Kaplerball doesn't always work.
Anyway. Even with Logan Webb as the marquee starter [UPDATE: You know, when I set this to publish, I checked if he'd been signed to an extension yet and he hadn't, and then 15 minutes after I set publish the Giants announced they'd signed him to an extension, so...that's just funny], the biggest offerings as far as pitching is concerned have been from lower-risk starters like Anthony DeSclafani, finally back from injuries, and Alex Wood, who has been an unsung hero of every rotation he's ever been a part of at this point. Disco is the big takeaway, only allowing 1 run and striking out 11 over the course of his first two starts. Webb and Alex Cobb are also efficient but haven't won a game yet. And then you have Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea, who both don't really have the stuff that made them fixtures in their prime. It's not ideal, but the lower-rotation guys are coming through and making it a little easier.
Also, if your bullpen consists of Tyler Rogers, Taylor Rogers, Camilo Doval, John Brebbia, Jakob Junis and Scott Alexander streaking as he was when he started, you're doing something pretty well. All of those guys are off to decent starts, TyRod and Doval are both viable closing options, and Taylor will...eventually lower his ERA. A very close-knit, uncomplicated bullpen group.
Right now this is a very low-key, unimpressive Giants team that is just beginning to heat up a bit now that Joey Bart's back and Concerto's finding the water. They could improve and really take on the heat of the division, but only if a lot of really small things come together.
Coming Tomorrow- A guy who, at the very least, deserves to be on a team that's won 13 straight games.
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