2015 San Francisco Giants: Reasons for Optimism?

The defending World Champion San Francisco Giants are now 6-10 after another win against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s their second straight win, and their third in four games, after starting the season 3-9. It was a veritable pitchers’ duel between Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw, and the Giants struck first with two runs in the Despite Bumgarner giving up a 2-run homer late in the game, the Giants rallied for a 3-2 victory, after a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Joe Panik.

However, despite their recent winning ways, the orange-and-black’s poor showing to start the season has been hard to ignore. After all, it is a constant reminder of the front office’s veritable lack of moves made during the 2014 offseason, and gives more meat to the so-called “Odd-year curse” the team has faced since before their first World Series run in 2010.

Remember when, once upon a time, this guy was destined to be Bumgarner’s teammate? **sigh**

Not to mention the team’s main flaws headed into this season, either as a result of injury, postseason fatigue, or a simple lack of healthy talent. From the pitching staff’s struggles (24th in opponent batting average – .265) to an utter lack of bringing runners home (27th in RBI – 41), one could say that Tim Lincecum’s 6.0 IP with 1 run and 5 hits allowed in the previous night’s win was more of an anomaly than anything else. Even Bumgarner, last year’s postseason hero, was 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA heading into his matchup against Kershaw. It’s difficult to find many bright spots with this team, almost destined to struggle like they did in 2013.

But, to those pessimistic Giants fans who agreed with the sentiments above, I implore you – there are things to be excited about for the Giants in 2015. You kind of just have to know where to look, and be a bit forward-thinking. For example:

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1) The emergence of Chris Heston. Now, granted, it’s a small sample size (3 games in 2015), but it’s hard not to notice that he has been the lone consistent bright spot on the pitching rotation, thus far. He has clocked in an 0.87 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 20.2 innings of work in 2015.

While it’s difficult to tell whether this can be sustained over 20+ starts in the next five months, it’s certainly something to be encouraged about. Is it wishful thinking that the 27-year-old from Palm Bay, Florida could have the makings of a 2013 Ryan Vogelsong? Maybe – but the good thing about this is that none of us know for sure. All that matters right now is that the potential for something special is there for a guy who’d had an up-and-down minor league career.

If he plays his cards right, SP Chris Heston could be a vital cog in the Giants rotation.

Let’s hope he takes full advantage of the opportunity, and becomes a regular in the 2015 rotation. Because Lord knows they could use the shot in the arm.

2) The emergence of Justin Maxwell. He was a venerable question mark when he entered Spring Training for the Giants this year – that is, not many discerning Giants fans really knew who he was. Though, at 6’5″ and 220 lbs, he was hard to miss.

But, after stints at Washington, Houston and Kansas City, the 31-year-old journeyman might prove to be a weapon for a Giants offense in desperate need of power hitting. After 13 games, Maxwell has racked up a .318 batting average, with a 1.014 OPS. Making himself at home in the outfield of AT&T Park, continued production on the offensive front could make him a valuable asset moving forward in the 2015 season.

3) True optimism for Big Time Timmy Jim. Considering we may never see the Cy Young machine that was 2010 Tim Lincecum, we have to like what we’ve seen so far from the 30-year-old who recently started working with his estranged father on his old mechanics.

Again, this is a small sample, but it is nonetheless somewhat encouraging: in three starts, he currently has a 2.00 ERA with 14 strikeouts. He would have likely had a 2-1 record, had his offense given him something to work with, and Jeremy Affeldt didn’t blow a 0-0 tie in the eighth against San Diego. Nonetheless, his production so far has been impressive – his breaking ball has been much better, he has dealt with his sub-90 mph stuff nicely, and has a better command of his repertoire of pitches.

Tim Lincecum could be back on the road to consistency in good pitching.

Sure, that dreaded 5-run inning may be close on the horizon – but maybe it’s not. And for his sake, let’s hope he can continue to be good enough to keep things close in games he starts.

4) The continued potential infusion of young talent. This is where a forward-thinking mindset for the Giants will be vital. After all, it’s tough to look ahead when you want your defending World Champs to be competitive right now. But, in an odd year, for a team that has gotten used to rough odd years (at least in a tongue-in-cheek sense), it makes the most sense to look forward.

Furthermore, at an average age of 30.4 years old, the Giants are currently the oldest team in the league. If they want to remain competitive in an ever-evolving league, they have to get younger – that is, without sacrificing talent.

That’s where the talent of the minor leagues steps in. As of right now, 25-year-old Andrew Susac is the heir apparent at catcher whenever Buster Posey decides to hang up his chest protector – that is to say, when he moves to another position full-time. Keith Law has him as the 46th-ranked minor league prospect in his Top 100 – an impressive distinction for a guy in a relatively barren farm system ranked 29th out of 30. He could provide another jolt of offense, to go along with his growing experience behind the plate. 24-year-old Matt Duffy – a contributor in the 2014 postseason who recently earned a spot in the Opening Day lineup – will get more seasoning in the big leagues before eyeing a full-time position, possibly at first base.

Andrew Susac: The future at catcher for the San Francisco Giants?

Then there are the diamonds in the rough currently in the minor leagues. 24-year-old 1B/3B Adam Duvall recently hit for the cycle for Triple-A Sacramento, in a display of potential hitting prowess. He currently has 4 home runs and 15 RBIs in 13 games with the River Cats, and could be called up later this season. Minor league pitching prospects Tyler Beede and Kyle Crick are looking good thus far this season, after on-and-off struggles over the past couple seasons. Their consistency could see them in the major league rotation as early as midseason.

5) Another prelude to “Even-Year Magic”? No matter what happens this season – whether the Giants make a playoff push in August, carry a middling record throughout the regular season, or if they take a complete nosedive to see one of the worst seasons in Giants history – the team may only be setting themselves up for 2016.

Between the young talent that could develop in 2015 (i.e. Duffy, Duvall, Susac, Crick), the surprising players that could be carried over into the next season (i.e. Heston, Maxwell, Nori Aoki), and the potential 2015 free agents that the Giants could target (SPs David Price, Jordan Zimmerman; 3B Chris Davis; OFs Jason Heyward, Austin Jackson, Justin Upton, Ben Zobrist), there are a lot of options for the Giants to get significantly better, especially on offense – at least, on paper.

Then again, whatever the Giants decide to do, the fans of San Francisco will at least have the “Even-Year Magic” optimism to ride for as long as possible. It will, at the very least, sustain Giants fans long enough to endure whatever struggles they experience in 2015.