Kuzul

The San Francisco Giants have been dominating their Cactus League opponents throughout the start of spring training.

Excited and ready to gear up for back-to-back World Series championships, the Giants seem to be heading down the right road. Veterans and rookies alike are playing great baseball, and Giants fans should be starting to get the itch that only comes when it’s time for baseball to begin.

I headed down to Scottsdale, Arizona last weekend to take a look at the Giants for myself, and they looked to be in great shape. Here’s how I rate their performances thus far.

Begin Slideshow

Prior to winning the World Series in 2010, there were many fans calling for the San Francisco Giants to trade Matt Cain for a big bat. At the time of the original rumors a couple of years ago, I was a proponent of trading Matt Cain for Prince Fielder. Thank goodness GM Brian Sabean didn’t make that move.

Over the past couple of years, in addition to Prince Fielder, we have heard rumors involving Jose Reyes, Adrian Beltre, Grady Sizemore and several others in blockbuster deals involving Matt Cain. 

The trade rumors have also swirled around moving Jonathan Sanchez for a powerful bat. I must admit, a year ago at this time, I was in favor of making a move involving either Sanchez or Cain.

Watching the Giants in 2010 and also looking at their 2011 roster, I have now changed my view completely. The Giants proved that excellent pitching is the most important thing if you want to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Cain was the most consistent and reliable pitcher for the Giants in 2010. During the regular season he threw 223 1/3 innings, finished with a 13-11 record, 3.14 ERA and 1.084 WHIP. 

In the post season, Cain continued his dominance. In 21 1/3 innings, Cain only gave up 13 hits.  He went 2-0 and did not allow an earned run. 

Durability and reliability are also Cain’s trademarks. Over the past five years, Cain has also never failed to start at least 31 games for the Giants. 

Sanchez was also extremely effective over the last couple of months of the season. He had a breakout season in 2010, finishing with a record of 13-9. His ERA was a career-best 3.07 and his WHIP ratio was also a career best of 1.23. Sanchez also had 205 strikeouts in his 193 1/3 innings pitched.

If it were not for Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez, the Giants would not have even made the playoffs, let alone won the World Series. Kudos to Brian Sabean for not trading either of these young arms.  The Giants proved that top notch starting pitching, along with a solid bullpen, is a recipe for victory.

Trading from an area of strength when you have nobody ready to step into the role for the departed player is a flawed approach. It makes no sense to strengthen one area of your team by weakening another.

Looking ahead to the 2011 season, the Giants will be wise to hold onto their starting pitching staff. The top four pitchers—Tim Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner—are outstanding. Keep these four and the Giants will be poised to make another deep run in the postseason.

The No. 5 starter, the much-maligned Barry Zito, cannot be traded unless the Giants were to eat a huge portion of his salary. It doesn’t make sense to do that, so the Giants must just hope Zito can be an effective fifth starter. At least Zito is a durable innings eater as he has made at least 32 starts in the past ten seasons. 

The additional argument against trading Matt Cain or any of their top starters is that the Giant offense should be much improved in 2011. The Giants will have a full year of Buster Posey behind the plate.  In addition, Pablo Sandoval is looking svelte and his bat is quick. He looks ready for a big year.

Super utility man Mark DeRosa should be a big contributor after missing most of 2010 with a wrist injury. NLCS MVP Cody Ross will also add punch to the Giants outfield. 

Rookie phenom Brandon Belt will probably not make the team out of spring training because the Giants would like him to get more seasoning in AAA.  I expect Belt to be called up in the May or June time frame, much the same way that Buster Posey was brought up to the Majors last year.  Belt should give the Giants’ offense a positive jolt over the second half of the year.

The Giants offense will be better in 2011 and there is no need to trade a pitcher the likes of Cain or Sanchez. I thank Brian Sabean for holding on to these two pitchers when people, including me, were clamoring for a trade to acquire a big bat.

Sometimes the best deals are those that never get completed. In this case, it is 100 percent true. By keeping their pitching staff together, the Giants won the World Series and made a lifelong dream of mine come true!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Click here to enter the 2011 Fantasy Baseball Team Name Contest

Here’s an updated and expanded look at the 2011 Starting Pitcher rankings.

1.  Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies:  Led the Majors in wins (21), ranked third in WHIP (1.04), fourth in ERA (2.44), and tied for fifth in strikeouts (219). He’s the complete package.

2.  Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants:  Lincecum was 16-10 with a 3.43 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 231 Ks. That was during an off year. He was untouchable in the playoffs.

3.  Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners:  He was a beast last year, leading the league in ERA (2.27) while ranking second in Ks (232) and 5th in WHIP (1.06). His only downside was the lack of wins (13), a problem that could easily resurface in 2011. It’s not a worrisome enough of a problem to keep him out of the top three.

4.  Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox:  Lester continued to perform at a high level setting a career high in wins (19) and WHIP (1.20) while matching his career high with 225 Ks. His solid 3.25 ERA rounded out his dominance, which should continue with an even better offense backing him.

5.  C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees:  The wins will be there as he’s averaged 20 the past two years for New York. He has had identical 197 K seasons as well, which is not elite, but solid. Low 3.00 ERA and a sub-1.20 WHIP round out his excellence.

6.  Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies:  I still can’t believe Lee joined the Phillies to form one of the best rotations in recent memory. He shouldn’t have a problem increasing that win total, especially since he won’t be facing as many aces. He should post a microscopic WHIP and a low ERA. He doesn’t strike out a ton of batters, which is the only thing that keeps him from ranking higher.

7.  Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers:  Verlander followed up his 19-9, 3.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 269 K season with a 18-9, 3.37, 1.16, 219 one. Aside from a blip in 2008, he’s been one of the best in the game since 2006.

8.  Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies:  Jimenez had one of the most dominating first halves in history. He finished 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 214 Ks. He has filthy stuff and is a tireless worker.

9.  Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers:  Kershaw was brilliant last year going 13-10 with a 2.91 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and 212 Ks. I believe this year he’ll add more wins to the outstanding peripheral numbers.

10.  Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:  It’s possible the best three pitchers in the American League last year (King Felix – 13, Lee – 12, and Weaver – 13) combined for just 38 wins. Weaver led the bigs in Ks (233), posted the 6th best WHIP (1.07), and the 16th best ERA (3.01).

11.  Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins:  Johnson posted the second lowest ERA (2.30) in the league last year while sporting an 11-6 record, 1.11 WHIP, and 186 strikeouts in 183-2/3 innings.

12.  Clay Buccholz, Boston Red Sox:  Buccholz went 17-7 last year with a 2.33 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. He only had 120 Ks in 173-2/3 innings. If he can improve that total, he also top ten potential.

13.  Mat Latos, San Diego Padres:  Latos went 14-10 last year with a 2.92 ERA (13th in the league), a 1.08 WHIP (tied for 7th) and 189 Ks (19th).

14.  Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins:  Liriano successfully bounced back last year posting a 14-10 record with a 3.62 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and 201 Ks in 191-2/3 innings. He was 8-3 with a 3.31 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP in the second half.

15.  Zack Greinke, Milwaukee Brewers:  I think a change of scenery will do Greinke good as he’ll actually have some run support. He stayed in a small market, which is probably good for his psyche. I don’t think he’ll bounce back to his Cy Young numbers, but he could certainly be a top ten fantasy pitcher.  ***Update***  Greinke will start the year on the D.L. because of fractured ribs, which moves him down a few slots from 12 to 15.

16.  Dan Haren, Los Angeles Angels:  Haren’s overall numbers were somewhat disappointing (12-12, 3.91 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 216 Ks), but he was rock solid after joining the Angeles going 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 75 Ks in 94 innings. He’s topped 200 strikeouts the past three seasons and he has a 3.55 ERA and 1.17 WHIP since 2005.

17.  Roy Oswalt, Philadelphia Phillies:  It’s almost embarrassing how stacked the Phillies rotation is. Oswalt was 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with the Phillies. He finished 13-13 with a 2.76 ERA (8th in the league), 1.03 WHIP (2nd), and 193 Ks (18th). Like Lee, he won’t be facing many aces this year for the Phillies.

18.  Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies:  Hamels bounced back in a big way last year going 12-11 with a 3.06 ERA (17th in the league), 1.18 WHIP (tied for 21st), and 211 Ks (11th). With the studs ahead of him in the rotation, he should have plenty of favorable matchups.

19.  Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers:  Gallardo was 14-7 with a 3.84 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and 200 Ks in 185 innings. He and Greinke form a solid 1-2 punch.

20.  David Price, Tampa Bay Rays:  Price went 19-9 (tied for fourth most wins) with a 2.72 ERA (7th), 1.19 WHIP (tied for 25th), and 188 Ks (20th). He was 10-2 with a 2.12 ERA against the AL East last year. I think he has a hard time coming close to those numbers, which takes a hit on his overall production.

21.  Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals:  He’ll turn 36 early in the year, but after going 16-9 with a 3.22 ERA (23rd), a 1.18 WHIP (tied for 21st) and 179 K (28th) season it’s hard not to imagine Carpenter as a solid number two fantasy pitcher.

22.  Brett Anderson, Oakland Athletics:  He’ll have to stay healthy, but when he is, he can be downright nasty. He finished 7-6 with a 2.80 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP and 75 Ks in 112-1/3 innings. He was 4-1 with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in September and October.

23.  Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves:  Hanson had an odd year sporting a solid 3.33 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP with 173 Ks, but finished 10-11. In 55 starts he has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.

24.  Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants:  Cain went 13-11 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 177 Ks. In 170 starts he has a 3.45 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He still unlucky posting a 57-62 career mark despite those solid numbers.

25.  Matt Garza, Chicago Cubs:  Garza escapes from the brutal AL East and lands in the National League. The past three years he’s been very consistent posting ERAs between 3.70 and 3.95 and WHIPs between 1.24 and 1.26. His strikeouts were down to 150 last year, but he won a career high 15 games.

26.  Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers:  Scherzer’s 2.47 ERA and 1.14 WHIP after the All-Star Break give him considerable promise. With 184 strikeout in 195-2/3 innings, he’s a strong bet to record 200 plus strikeouts in 2011.

27.  Colby Lewis, Texas Rangers:  He went 12-13, but his 3.72 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 196 strikeouts make him a great option.

28.  Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers:  His WHIP (lifetime 1.35) keeps him from being an elite option, but he gives you double-digit wins, a mid-3.00 ERA, and 170-plus strikeouts.

29.  Wandy Rodriguez, Houston Astros:  After a terrible start, Wandy rebounded going 5-1 with a 2.11 ERA in the second half.

30.  Brett Myers, Houston Astros:  Myers went 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and 180 strikeouts. He was 8-2 with a 2.81 ERA in the second half.

31.  Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks:  Hudson was brilliant coming over in a trade to the D-backs going 7-1 with a 1.69 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP.

32.  Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays:  Hellickson was outstanding in his cup of coffee going 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts in 36-1/3 innings.

33.  John Danks, Chicago White Sox:  Not a sexy pick, but Danks has three straight seasons with 12 plus wins, a sub-4.00 ERA, and a sub-1.30 WHIP.

34.  Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays:  Morrow struck out 178 batters in 146-1/3 innings. He was 5-1 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP after the All-Star Break.

35.  Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants:  Bumgarner went 7-6 with a 3.00 ERA during the regular season. He upped his game in the playoffs going 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA.

Also check out:

• 2011 Fantasy Baseball Profiles
• 2011 Fantasy First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Outfielder Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Starting Pitcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Closer Rankings

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Is there such thing as a World Series hangover? Do the Giants need to add talent in order to bolster their chances at a repeat? Is Pablo Sandoval the guy that might make all the difference?

These questions and many others will eventually define the season for the Giants in 2011, similar to almost every other team’s quest for the trophy.

San Francisco will just have to wait until all the pieces fall into place before an accurate judgment can be made. Until then, lets look at some pitfalls that may be a deterrent in the Patriots-like repeat journey that is the upcoming 2011 baseball campaign. 

Begin Slideshow

Over the last week or so, various reputable baseball analysis sites have been digging into the relationship between infield fly ball rates (IFFB%) and home run per fly ball rates (HR/FB). The discussion was prompted by a blog post by Rory Paap at Paapfly.com called “Matt Cain ignores xFIP, again and again,” which generated a response from Dave Cameron at Fangraphs.

Paap suggested FIP and xFIP do Cain a disservice because they don’t give him his due credit for possessing the “unique skill” of inducing harmless fly ball contact, a theory that David Pinto at Baseball Musings attempted to quantify last October. Cameron’s response included some interesting analysis that looked at the best pitchers from 2002-2007 in terms of HR/FB rate and compared their IFFB% over that span to what they posted the next three seasons. His conclusion?

Is there some skill to allowing long fly outs? Maybe. But if you can identify which pitchers are likely to keep their home run rates low while giving up a lot of fly balls before they actually do it, then you could make a lot of money in player forecasting.

Simply out of curiosity, I decided to throw my hat into the ring and see if I could find a trend between IFFB% and HR/FB rate. My theory was that if IFFB% and HR/FB rate showed some sort of correlation, then plotting HR/FB rate as a function of IFFB% would show a clear inverse trend (meaning that a higher IFFB% would more likely generate a lower HR/FB rate, and vice versa).

To do this, I looked at all pitchers from 2008 to 2010 who threw at least 162 innings and plotted their IFFB% and HR/FB rate as described above. This three-year range generated 257 such data points, and you can see the results in just to the right. 

Note: IFFB% is on the x-axis and HR/FB rate is on the y-axis.

Just by looking at the chart, it’s tough to visually decipher any sort of trend. If there actually is an inverse relationship between IFFB% and HR/FB rates, we would expect the data points to slope from the top-left (low IFFB%, high HR/FB rate) to the bottom-right (high IFFB%, low HR/FB rate).

By adding a best-fit trend line to the data set, we see that there is a very slight slope in the direction we anticipated, but to say it shows any sort of useful relationship is a stretch. The data has an R-Squared value of just 0.0126, which tells us there was very little correlation between IFFB% and HR/FB rate. If you don’t know what R-squared is, it’s simply a representation of one variable’s ability to forecast another. R-Squared values range from 0 to 1, and the closer they are to 1 the more of a correlation there is between the two sets of data. An R-Squared value of 0.0126 between IFFB% and HR/FB rate shows very little correlation.

What conclusions can we draw from this? Perhaps it is possible to tell if a pitcher like Cain is more prone to lower HR/FB rates by virtue of his ability to induce weaker contact, but IFFB% alone is not enough to draw any conclusions. More sophisticated analysis, like that provided by Pinto’s article at Baseball Musings, might unveil some usable relationships, but we cannot simply look at Clayton Kershaw’s 4.1 percent HR/FB rate in 2009 and say his 13.5 percent IFFB% explains it. For now, I’m still skeptical about pitchers like Cain, but there’s no doubt his performances these last few seasons have given us plenty to think about.

Make Baseball Professor, the most personable fantasy baseball outlet on the web, part of your daily fantasy baseball routine for updated fantasy news and analysis. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated throughout the season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Coming off their first World Series championship in 56 years, the San Francisco Giants are flying high. They return the bulk of their squad and aim to make another championship run in 2011.

How do the Giants size up heading into spring? Read on to find out.

Begin Slideshow

Over the course of the off season I’ve read my fair share of articles listing teams and their power rankings or their projected records for the 2011 season.  One trend that I’ve noticed is that the Philadelphia Phillies are the favorites of the National League (maybe all of MLB, but the Red Sox really stepped it up this year). Usually, the team to beat is the reigning World Series Champion, which this year is the San Francisco Giants. Even though some credit is given to them, they seem to not be given as much attention as the Phillies. Usually, a fan of the Giants such as myself would cry foul “East coast bias” or something similar to that, but let’s look at this for a bit.

First of all, the biggest debate won’t be decided until at least the All-Star Break come July. Whose pitching staff is better, San Francisco or Philadelphia?  Many have looked into this, so I wont go into too much detail, but it looks as if the starting rotations are both excellent.

Philadelphia has Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hammels, and Joe Blanton as their starting five.  Roy Halladay is great, amazing even.  He won the NL Cy Young award this year.  How? He threw two no-hitters last year, one of which was a perfect game, and then he no-hit the Reds, who had a very nice offense all year that included the NL MVP Joey Votto.  He is no doubt an ace.  

Cliff Lee is next.  He has a career record of 102-61 with an ERA of 3.85, ERA+ of 112 and a WHIP of 1.256 all of which are not bad.  His real value is in the playoffs where, until this post season, he was undefeated with a 7-0 record in 10 games started.  Even with the two losses to the Giants, he is 7-2 with an ERA of 2.13 and a WHIP of 0.816.  Not bad at all, not the ace with Halladay up there, but a very solid pitcher.  

Oswalt is another solid pitcher.  Similar win-loss percentage and ERA to Lee, and a better ERA+ and WHIP.  He has completed 10 years in the majors.  Oswalt had a bit of a rough start in Houston in 2010, but really turned it around in Philly, as he went from a 6-12 pitcher to a 7-1 guy as soon as he ended up there.  

Next up is Cole Hammels.  Cole is 26, and getting better each year.  3.53 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, 123 ERA+, above an “average” pitcher, and I am going to guess that he’s going to improve.

Finally, we get to Joe Blanton, the number five starter for the Phillies.  Like most fifth starters, we see a drop off in the stats.  He has an above .500 win-loss record, but his ERA is 4.30, and his ERA+ is 99, below average.  His whip is around average at 1.343, but he gives up an average of 10.6 hits/9 innings.

Now to the San Francisco Giants.  The number one pitcher is Tim Lincecum.  The Giants ace is a former two-time Cy Young award winner.  He had a down year in 2010, as evident in his horrific August showing.  He still led the NL in Strikeouts with 231, and had an above average 119 ERA+ as well as having a 9.8 K/9 innings.  The playoffs showed what Lincecum could do when he was on.  He had a 14 strikeout game vs the Braves in his very first playoff appearance.  Additionally, he helped the Giants win their first Word Series title since moving to San Francisco by beating Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. 

Matt Cain is second up.  The Workhorse of the Giants staff, Cain is also the “Veteran” of the staff, as he has been in the Giants’ rotation the longest of any of the current starters.  This year, Cain showed his usual consistent self posting a 3.14 ERA, 130 ERA+, 1.084 WHIP, and four complete games including two shutouts.  We also can’t forget his stellar post season.  Cain went 2-0 in three starts with 21.1 innings pitched, a WHIP of 0.938, and an ERA of 0.00.  He gave up one unearned run through 21.1 innings.  

Now on to Jonathan Sanchez, the only Giants starter with a no-hitter.  As many have said before me, Sanchez’s stuff is nasty.  If he was more consistent, Sanchez could very well be the ace of the staff. Sanchez may have an ERA+ of 101, barely above average and an ERA of 4.26, but he is very much improved over the past years, as his ERA dropped 1.17 points from 2009 to 2010.  While Sanchez led the league in Walks, he also led the league in batting average against, allowing an average of 6.6 hits per nine innings and a .204 BAA.  In September and October, Sanchez showed how good he is when he is on.  He was 4-1 with an ERA of 1.01, a WHIP of 1.037, and a BAA of .151.  Unfortunately, he sometimes can let games get away, as seen in the playoffs, especially in the NLCS when he had to exit the sixth game in the second inning after giving up two runs and three hits as well as walking two batters.  Overall, Sanchez is improving though, and I expect more improvement in 2011.  

The Giants’ fourth starter is young Madison Bumgarner.  Because he has only played in parts of two seasons, we’ll just look at his 2010 stats.  He has a 7-6 Win Loss record, an ERA of an even 3.00, a WHIP of 1.306, and an ERA+ of 136.   Not bad at all, especially considering his rookie status.  Moving into the postseason, Bumgarner went 2-0 with an ERA of 2.18, and a WHIP of 1.113, including his eight-inning shutout performance vs. the best lineup the AL had to offer in the World Series.

Finally, we arrive at Barry Zito as the Giants’ fifth starter.  Zito is the only starter on the starting rotation that is over 30.  That being said, he has also performed the worst.  A three time all-star and former Cy Young award winner, Zito was a promising player when he crossed the Bay into S.F, but he has not performed well since then.  He’s gone 40-57 with an ERA of 4.45, a WHIP of 1.408, and an ERA+ of 97. He did show promise at the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, however, and is solid as a fifth starter.  I have faith that he will step up as his contract is nearing it’s end, and I hope that he can pull it together and at least grab a .500 record in 2011.

As you can see, both rotations are stellar.  In numbers, I can now see why people are saying that Philadelphia has the best rotation, however, we have to keep in mind that in the post season, the Giants beat each of the Phillies pitchers (except Joe Blanton), and the Giants have a much younger squad.  While injuries are possible for anyone, with age comes the greater risk, so I’d say that the Phillies are more likely to get unlucky.  That being said, and because I am a die hard Giants fan, I’d have to say that it could go either way, but I’ll lean towards the Giants and their torture.

Staring Pitchers aren’t the only pitchers though, the bullpen plays a huge part of a team’s success. This is the weakest part of the Phillies’ pitching staff.  Their closer, Brad Lidge had a perfect season in 2009, but in 2010 only had 27 saves.  While his ERA and WHIP are both better than average, he is still somewhat inconsistent.  The rest of the Phillies bullpen is average at best with Madson being their best reliever.  Besides his 2.55 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 64 K’s, the next best is Conteras with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP, and ends up with Baez at a 5.48 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.

The Giants on the other hand have a very good bullpen that includes former TYIB Reliever of the Year Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Castilla, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, and Brian Wilson.  Affeldt was injured for part of the year and didn’t seem to bounce back too well until his masterful relief appearance in game six of the NLCS. Santiago Casilla is a great strikeout pitcher with a K/9 of 9.1 and a nice 6.5 H/9. Lopez was wonderful at shutting down left-handed batters, and Romo is a good set up man for the man who led the league in saves, Brian Wilson.  As proof to the bullpen’s strength, anyone can look to that sixth game of the NLCS when the ‘pen had to pitch seven innings of shut out ball to stop the Phillies and take the Giants to the World Series.

Now that we’ve finished with pitching, we can move on to hitting.

The Phillies will probably have a lineup consisting of:

1. Jimmy Rollins    

2. Placido Polanco

3. Chase Utley    

4. Ryan Howard  

5. Raul Ibanez    

6. Shane Victorino  

7. Domonic Brown  

8. Carlos Ruiz      

All in all a very reasonable threat to score.

As we move to the Giants, we see they’ll have: 

1. Andres Torres

2. Freddy Sanchez

3. Buster Posey

4. Aubrey Huff

5. Pat Burrell

6. Pablo Sandoval

7. Miguel Tejada

8. Cody Ross.

Looking at the two lineups, I would say Philadelphia has an edge in the hitting department, unless Sandoval really steps up his game to his 2009 numbers, Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, and Freddy Sanchez all do as well as or better than 2010, and Miguel Tejada becomes the power boost that S.F. needs.

Looking at the numbers, I can still see why Philadelphia is the “team to beat”, but you can never write off the San Francisco Giants.  They were written off in 2010, and they made it all the way.  The base statistics may say one thing, but team chemistry also matters, and the Giants have a big advantage on that aspect of the game.

As we look forward to the beginning of Spring Training and the 2011 season we don’t know if the Phillies will be the best team out there, and we don’t know if the Giants will repeat as World Champions. All that is certain is that we are all looking forward to a great season and hopefully a fun and eventful rematch between the Phillies and the Giants.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The NL West was arguably one of the best divisions last season thanks in large part to the Giants bullpen and the Padres’ early success.

With young talent running deep, the NL West looks to continue its exciting play and eventually sponsor a squad in a playoff run in October.

Let’s look at 25 guys that could make that a reality, or a repeat.

Begin Slideshow

When pitchers and catchers report next month, the San Francisco Giants will still be world champions. And they will still be the defending champs for at least the next 11 months, which is comforting for all of us Giants fans. 

The front office has done their part to try and keep it that way in 2011, and with the exception of the heart-wrenching, bile-inducing, loyalty-destroying defection of Juan Uribe to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the roster that got the Giants to the playoffs will look very much the same as it did in 2010.

One part (the main part) of the team that got the Giants to the pinnacle of the baseball world was another outstanding year from the starting rotation. Granted, there were no brilliant standout performances like those Tim Lincecum produced when he garnered back-to-back Cy Young awards,but the consistency and quality up and down the rotation was remarkable.

The lowest ERA on the staff belonged to the rookie, Madison Bumgarner (3.00). The highest, to the oldest member of the staff, Barry Zito (4.15). The average ERA of that starting rotation was a highly respectable 3.35, and the fact that everyone was fairly consistent in this case meant that the Giants were always within reach of winning the game.

However, not one of the Giants’ front four starters missed a start due to injury. Each one of them pitched an identical 33 games. Madison Bumgarner took over for Todd Wellemeyer after his injury, but didn’t miss any games for the rest of the season (or postseason, for that matter). 

And even though San Francisco didn’t carry Barry Zito on any of the postseason rosters, his second-half collapse cannot be discounted. Basically, the Giants were very lucky, and to expect another season of injury-free starters isn’t exactly ridiculous, but careless.

Over the years, the Giants have had a bevy of pitching prospects waiting in the wings. More often than not, they were traded away in the Sabean days pre-dating the current prospect boom (more to come on that). Yet now it comes to pass that they’re all here in the majors, making up 80 percent of the starting rotation. 

There were the dark days of the fifth starter, when the fifth day was split between Brad Hennessey, Dustin Hermanson, Chad Zerbe, Ryan Jensen, Pat Misch, Kevin Correia and others, and when every few days a win was an amazing feat, and was usually due to the bullpen and some late-inning heroics.

Those were not good times.

Remember when Jonathan Sanchez was a swingman/emergency starter out of the bullpen? He’s now the No. 4. And when Tim Lincecum was a rookie phenom? He’s the ace. And remember when we were all itching for the day that Bumgarner would have a chance to crack the already stacked rotation?Well, he did.

And remember when Barry Zito was under contract until 2035? Me too.

The truth is, there’s no longer anyone waiting in the wings in case something happens. That’s not to say that the Giants are without legitimate pitching prospects. Not at all. They’re just all down in the lower minors, and none of them have the kind of experience needed to hop into an emergency role.

Gone is Kevin Pucetas, who was competing with Wellemeyer during spring training last year. Gone is Eric Hacker, who has spent seven years in the minors but recently signed on with the Twins. Denny Bautista had experience as a starter but is also gone. Joe Martinez and Ryan Sadowski aren’t around anymore. 

Dan Runzler has apparently been working on being a starter. With Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt already presenting a southpaw-heavy bullpen, this might be his way to stick with the major league club.

There are still some free-agent starters out there, but I would prefer that the Giants find someone low risk, high reward, who is comfortable with a minor league deal but who can still perform against major league hitting.

The market for such a starter will clear up in the weeks leading up to spring training as clubs start making cuts. 

Again, all five of the Giants starters have a pretty solid track record when it comes to injuries. But you never know, anything can happen. Just ask Stephen Strasburg.

And the Giants have to be prepared.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There has been some significant movement in our starting pitcher rankings since we originally checked in on them. 

The most glaring change was due to Zack Greinke’s trade to the Brewers, but that’s certainly not all. Let’s take a look at how things currently look:

1. Roy Halladay – Philadelphia Phillies
2. Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners
3. Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants
4. Jon Lester – Boston Red Sox
5. Adam Wainwright – St. Louis Cardinals
6. CC Sabathia – New York Yankees
7. Cliff Lee – Philadelphia Phillies
8. Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Zack Greinke – Milwaukee Brewers
10. Jered Weaver – Los Angeles Angels
11. Justin Verlander – Detroit Tigers
12. Ubaldo Jimenez – Colorado Rockies
13. Josh Johnson – Florida Marlins
14. Francisco Liriano – Minnesota Twins
15. Chris Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals
16. Yovani Gallardo – Milwaukee Brewers
17. Cole Hamels – Philadelphia Phillies
18. Clay Buchholz – Boston Red Sox
19. Mat Latos – San Diego Padres
20. Tommy Hanson – Atlanta Braves
21. Dan Haren – Los Angeles Angels
22. Roy Oswalt – Philadelphia Phillies
23. Colby Lewis – Texas Rangers
24. David Price – Tampa Bay Rays
25. Ricky Nolasco – Florida Marlins
26. Brett Anderson – Oakland Athletics
27. Matt Cain – San Francisco Giants
28. Max Scherzer – Detroit Tigers
29. Matt Garza – Tampa Bay Rays
30. Josh Beckett – Boston Red Sox

Thoughts:

• I know seeing Colby Lewis over David Price seems odd, but I took a detailed look into why I prefer him earlier this week.  Check it out by clicking here.
• Some people are going to be higher than I am on Matt Cain.  I fear a regression in his BABIP (.260) and control (2.46 BB/9 compared to a 3.37 career BB/9), meaning a rather sizable jump in his WHIP (1.08) could be in store for him.  Yes, he has improved his control for three straight years, but sooner or later, the trend is going to stop.  It’s not to say that he’s a bad option, I just prefer the other options more.  I’ll be taking a look at my projection for Cain in the near future.
• Since the last time we looked at the rankings Zack Greinke has been dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers, significantly helping his value.  You have to think that he’ll have a higher win upside, while also potentially seeing a bump in strikeouts and a decrease in ERA and WHIP thanks to leaving the DH behind (and facing generally easier lineups).  The former Cy Young Award winner was a Top 20 option prior to the deal but now cracks the Top 10.  For more on the deal, click here. 
• Adam Wainwright or CC Sabathia?  It’s virtually a coin flip and, despite pitching for the Yankees, Sabathia does call the harder division home.  When pitchers are as close as they are, I’d generally side with the NL option.
• Josh Beckett’s inclusion may be a bit of a surprise, given how poorly he pitched in 2010.  However, he struggled with luck (.349 BABIP) and we all know how good he has the potential to be.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him perform like a Top 15 pitcher at year’s end, would it?  (For more on his 2010 struggles, click here)
• I know some people want to consider Felix Hernandez the top starting pitcher in the league, but I just can’t do it.  Halladay has an edge in both wins and WHIP, while the two will likely be close in the ERA department.  While Hernandez may strike out a few more, is it enough to overcome Halladay’s other advantages?  I don’t think so.  (For a more detailed comparison, click here)
• I know people are worried about Latos’ workload in 2010, but any pitcher carries a bit of a risk with him.  No one knows for sure how his body will respond, as it’s the same question we’ve had with Tim Lincecum since he entered the league (and how has that turned out?).  With his strikeout rate (9.21 K/9 in ’10 vs. 10.55 over his minor league career), control (2.44 B/9 in ’10 vs. 2.30 over his minor league career) and the benefit of pitching in Petco Park, you have to like his potential to excel once again.
• Josh Johnson certainly is one of the best starting pitcher options in the league, but he falls just short of the Top 12 for me.  Don’t overlook the fact that he benefited from a 79.2% strand rate and increased his strikeout rate be nearly one K per nine innings (8.22 vs. 9.11).  I know he’s certainly improved since his minor league days, but his K/9 coming up was just 7.41.  There’s a good chance he regresses there, which certainly will hurt his potential value.  I wouldn’t suggest a return to his minor league numbers, but potentially back to the low-to-mid 8.0 range.

What are your thoughts on the rankings?  Whose too high?  Whose too low?

**** Make sure to pre-order your copy of the Rotoprofessor 2011 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, selling for just $5, by clicking here. ****

Make sure to check out our 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 30 Outfielders
• Top 20 Starting Pitchers
• Top 15 Closers
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First Round Breakdown

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com