The Giants, officially halfway through the 2022 season, are in the midst of some of their most uninspired baseball in years.
San Francisco has lost 14 of its last 20 games. It’s dropped from three games back in the division to 11.5. They’re currently two games out of the third National League wild-card spot and have a 25.5% chance at reaching the postseason, per Fangraphs.
Players have said things like it’s time to switch it into gear and something needs to change.
At 41-40, here are 10 numbers that tell the story of the Giants’ unfinished season.
6
The Giants lost a season-high six games in a row during their turn-of-the-calendar July malaise. The six straight losses came during a stretch in which San Francisco dropped 10 of 12.
It was the Giants’ longest losing streak since 2019. The team’s most glaring issues — incompetent fielding, lack of timely hitting, inconsistent pitching, mental lapses — materialized on a seemingly constant basis.
Each of those losses came against teams with losing records, and three came against last-place opponents. In a division that swallows clubs that go on sustained swoons, the losing streak slices San Francisco’s margin like a tri-tip steak.
1
Darin Ruf’s pinch-hit home run on Wednesday night in Arizona was the Giants’ first and only of the season. It came 80 games into the year.
In 2021, the Giants hit an all-time record 18 pinch-hit homers. The mix-and-match strategy always seemed to work, particularly late in games. The Super Players of Austin Slater/LaMonte Wade Jr., Darin Ruf/Mike Yastrzemski, Donovan Solano/Tommy La Stella produced because they were constantly put in positions to succeed.
That hasn’t been the case in 2022. Giants pinch hitters have posted a .614 OPS, 15th in MLB. The Giants are still the most prolific pinch-hitting team, but the results haven’t been there.
Much of that is due to injuries. San Francisco’s depth has been depleted by IL stints to key contributors, which limits their platoon options. Against left-handed starters, the Giants have occasionally started two right-handed catchers — one at designated hitter — which is something they rarely, if ever, had to do last year.
Some of it also has to be attributed to opponents adjusting to SF’s matchup-seeking aggression. Teams have appeared to make some bullpen choices to bait the Giants into making line changes in less dangerous spots, sometimes earlier in games. Gabe Kapler said San Francisco is working on countering that.
“I think it happens,” Kapler said July 2. “And one of the reasons I think it happens is teams would prefer either the hitter on the bench or to see the hitter coming off the bench later in the game. Something that we did last year was very aggressively hit earlier in the game, I think you’ve probably seen a little bit of a shift on that front.”
-33.4
Through 81 games, the Giants not only have the worst defense in MLB, according to Fangraphs’ Defensive Runs Above Average (DEF), they’ve had one of the worst defenses ever.
San Francisco has put up a -33.4 DEF. Second-worst is the Nationals at -19.5.
Many of the same Giants on the diamond collected a 17.4 DEF in 2021 — eighth in MLB.
The significant dropoff comes from players declining with age and a more obvious lack of defensive flexibility. Because Tommy La Stella has only made one start at second base, defensive liabilities like Joc Pederson and Darin Ruf have been thrust into the fold more than they should. Thairo Estrada also, notably, has underperformed his expectations based on the flashes he showed last year.
The -33.4 number would be the worst of any Giants team since Fangraphs began tracking the stat in 2002.
With a pitching staff that excels at producing ground balls, the Giants’ inability to convert balls in play into outs is particularly damning. The roster construction that tilts toward offensive thumpers in lieu of defensive stalwarts hasn’t panned out.
6
The Giants have six hitters who play regularly with at least a 100 OPS+ — a fancy way of saying six above average hitters. Last year’s group had 13.
When a club relies more on quantity than sheer star power, it needs a complete, top-to-bottom lineup full of capable hitters (see pinch-hitting section).
A list of above average Giants hitters who have played at least 20 games: Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores, Austin Slater, Luis González and Evan Longoria.
A list of Giants who hit at an above average rate last year, but have fallen off this year: Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, and Darin Ruf. Thairo Estrada is also in this category, but it feels wrong to include him given the outsize increase in his role and the fact that he leads the team in hits, runs and stolen bases.
12.7
Many fans groaned at the lack of star power the Giants front office pursued this past winter. But Joc Pederson has been more impactful than just about any bat that was available in free agency.
Pederson has hit a home run in every 12.7 at-bats. That frequency ranks ninth in baseball. His 17 dingers on the season pace the Giants; no one else has cracked double figures.
Despite being limited — and often looking goofy — in the outfield, Pederson has been San Francisco’s most valuable position player, and it hasn’t been particularly close.
2.8
Like Pederson, Carlos Rodón has provided a major boost after signing with the Giants this winter. Rodón’s 2.8 WAR is comfortably in the top-10 among pitchers in baseball.
After his recent six-inning, one-run outing against Detroit, Rodón said he’s been focusing on keeping his emotions more in check on the mound. A string of subpar starts in May showed his mortality, but there hasn’t been much for him to lose his head about this year.
In his 16 starts, Rodón has posted a 2.87 ERA. He leads the NL in FIP (2.24) and home runs allowed per nine innings (0.4). He ranks second in the NL, behind only Corbin Burnes, in strikeouts per nine.
Rodón has dominated. If the Giants turn things around, it’ll be because he continues to do so and bucks the trend of wearing down as his innings pile up.
44.6%
The wildly anticipated Joey Bart Era started with a bang, when he homered in San Francisco’s season opener. But from there, things went downhill.
Bart got sent down June 8 to adjust his hitting approach and mindset after striking out in 49 of 108 plate appearances. The 25-year-old’s strikeout rate currently sits at 44.6%.
The former No. 2 pick was thrust back into action this week when Curt Casali suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain. His development and ability to catch up to fastballs up in the zone is key for SF in 2022 and beyond.
11
Brandon Crawford has committed 11 fielding errors, tied for second-most among all shortstops. It’s already two more than he made all of last season.
Crawford is the oldest, slowest, starting shortstop in baseball. He’s also coming off a magnificent 2021 season in which he finished fourth in MVP voting. And in the first half, he dealt with knee, forearm, quad and other ailments that likely contributed to his decline.
Since returning from the 10-day injured list, Crawford has looked quicker and more spry. If he can bounce back in the second half to closer to 2021 form, both in the field and at the plate, the Giants will be much more capable of making a run.
.302
This year’s previously anonymous Giants Lab Project, Luis González, leads the Giants with a .302 batting average.
González, who is currently rehabbing from back tightness, has provided the Giants with an old school approach at the plate and some much-needed speed on the basepaths. He takes extra aggressive leads, has a penchant for dropping surprise bunts and uses all parts of the field.
With such an aging, plodding group of position players, González has been a change-of-pace. His emergence has helped the Giants stay afloat.
3rd
Beane Count is simple. It measures how many home runs and walks a team has both earned and allowed, then ranks teams in accordance to those two factors. For analytically savvy clubs — and observers — home runs and walks are among the most important stats because they’re said to be controllable (compared to balls in play).
Home runs and walks tend to indicate success. In 2021, the Giants had the best Beane Count in baseball — 5 — twice as valuable as the next highest team in the Dodgers. Right behind Los Angeles was the Tampa Bay Rays. All three clubs won at least 100 games.
This year, the Giants rank second in the NL, and third overall, in Beane Count. Giants pitchers have allowed the fewest home runs and the second-fewest walks in the NL. Hitters have slugged the sixth most dingers and taken the second-most free passes.
Live ball luck could turn in SF’s favor. A strong Beane Count position at the midpoint should be encouraging for the Giants.