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San Francisco Giants Predictions | 2013 Season Betting Preview

2013 MLB Team Preview: San Francisco Giants

You know you are doing something right when you win two World Series titles in three seasons and the following year you are not even picked to win your division. That is just how Giants’ manager Brian Bochy likes things as his team always performs its best as an underdog.

Bovada’s Odds to Win

  • NL West +175
  • National League: 7/1
  • World Series: 12/1

Key Additions

The current San Francisco roster looks almost exactly the same as the one that swept the Detroit Tigers in last year’s World Series. The Giants biggest goal this offseason was to keep things as intact as possible by resigning free agents Marco Scutaro, Angel Pagan, Hunter Pence and Jeremy Affeldt. They also brought back Andres Torres to add some additional depth to the bench.

Probable lineup

  • 1. CF Angel Pagan
  • 2. 2B Marco Scutaro
  • 3. 3B Pablo Sandoval
  • 4. C Buster Posey
  • 5. RF Hunter Pence
  • 6. 1B Brandon Belt
  • 7. LF Gregor Blanco
  • 8. SS Brandon Crawford

Keeping both Pagan and Pence in the fold should go a long way towards maintaining the stability this lineup has shown in the past from top to bottom. The Giants will never be confused with teams such as Cincinnati or Milwaukee for their power, but they know how to make the most of their hits to score runs.

Last season, San Francisco finished the regular season ranked third in the NL with a team batting average of .269 and sixth in runs scored with 718. If this lineup can reproduce those kind of numbers against this season, the pitching staff should be able to do the rest. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

Probable rotation

  • RHP Matt Cain
  • LHP Madison Bumgarner
  • RHP Ryan Vogelsong
  • LHP Barry Zito
  • RHP Tim Lincecum

Matt Cain is a legitimate Cy Young candidate, but the rest of these starters have proven time and time again that they can get the tough out when they need it the most regardless of what their overall ERA may be. Even Tim Lincecum showed he still had something left in the tank in the postseason after pitching his way to the bullpen during a regular season slump.

Overall, the Giants should once again end up ranked near the top of the NL in pitching after posting a 3.68 team ERA last season. The bullpen remains basically intact with the resigning of Jeremy Affeldt and the youthful Jose Mijares and George Kontos should only get better with age.

Bullpen

Closer

RHP Sergio Romo

Romo did a great job in this role in 2012 and all indications point towards another productive season this year.

2013 San Francisco Giants Prediction:

The Dodgers appear to be the class of the NL West this season with a roster that reads like an All-Star team, but as proven time and time before, you never want to count San Francisco out of the mix. In the end I see the Giants coming-up just short in their quest for the division title with about 90 wins, but they should still get into the postseason as a wildcard.

As we all know, from there anything can happen.

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By Dave Schwab

David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.