X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

San Francisco Giants 2017 Team Preview and Outlook

By SD Dirk on Flickr [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Sullivan's 2017 San Francisco Giants team preview. His fantasy baseball draft strategy, advice and outlook for their pitchers, hitters, prospects and rookies.

Spring training is officially underway, and it's time to get ready for your fantasy draft. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. Today's installment covers the 2017 San Francisco Giants Outlook, and previews their potential fantasy baseball contributions.

In these articles, we discuss each team's offseason moves, as well as their hitters, pitchers, and prospects. Let's get to it.

Editor's note: make sure to use our free Rankings Wizard - all of your 2017 fantasy baseball rankings, in one easy place. Tiered rankings for every position, points leagues, auction values, impact rookies and lots more. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.

 

Offseason Moves

The Giants allocated the majority of their resources to revamping the back-end of the bullpen. They inked top-free-agent reliever Mark Melancon to a four-year contract in December. Melancon is one of the top fantasy closers and should restore order to a San Francisco bullpen that led the league in blown saves with 30 in 2016. The team also signed relief men Will Smith and George Kontos to one-year deals. Both pitchers are not expected to pitch in the later innings, and thus don't hold fantasy value for 2017.

San Francisco solidified its third base position by signing midseason acquisition Eduardo Núñez to a one-year deal. He probably won't eclipse his career-high 16 home run mark. But Núñez possesses enough pop to reach the low double-digits. That plus his 20–30 SB potential places his value in deeper mixed and NL-only leagues.

The other two major offensive signings were of catcher Nick Hundley and South Korean star Jae-Gyun Hwang. However, both players aren't expected to be fantasy viable heading into this year due to playing time concerns. Hundley is expected to be the back-up to Buster Posey. Hwang is not projected to be a starter. If Hwang receives substantial lineup nods, however, he is an intriguing power bat in deeper formats.

 

Hitting Overview

Posey headlines the band of San Francisco fantasy hitters. He and Gary Sanchez are your number-one choices at the backstop position heading into fantasy drafts.

Brandon Belt will man first base again in 2017. While he is a fantastic on-base threat, Belt just hasn't put up those eye-popping HR totals like the rest of the elite first base bunch. His career-high .199 ISO last season was stellar, but he has yet to hit at least 20 homers in his career. Belt hit the most fly balls this past year (46% FB%) in his career and still hit the ball hard with a 36.4% Hard%. Yet, he still hits the ball too much to the opposite field and his average fly ball distance dropped approximately 20 feet from 2015 to 2016. Have we seen Belt's power peak? Maybe so. Although, he is still 28-years-old, so there is still time. For now, he is a top-15 fantasy first baseman.

Brandon Crawford's bat may not be as golden as his glove, but it is certainly serviceable in NL-only's. He should be good for a double-digit dingers and an above-average ISO at the position. Joe Panik's calling card is only his BA. If he can muster a double-digit homers as well, he can be rostered in deep NL-only's. In other leagues, take a pass on Panik.

In the outfield, Hunter Pence is only big name fantasy player for the Giants. He comes with health risks, however. If he can avoid the DL, he will give you at the minimum 15 taters. Denard Span will tally 10–15 SB and a good BA, but that would be scraping the bottom of the barrel even in deep NL-only's. Jarrett Parker doesn't hold any fantasy value.

 

Pitching Overview

The Giant's rotation is full of fantasy studs. Leading off is the ace Madison Bumgarner, who should be one of the top five starting pitchers taken off of the board. Johnny Cueto is the number two man, but could be many fantasy owner's number one in their rotations. He is a top-50 fantasy player overall and a borderline top-10 pitcher.

After Cueto comes Jeff Samardzija, who bounced back from a tough 2015 campaign with a solid 2016 season. The righty went 12–11 with a  3.81 ERA  and a 1.20 WHIP in a little more than 200 innings of work. Expect similar results from Samardzija and draft him as a top-50 starter. Matt Moore rounds out the order for San Francisco. The Giants traded for the southpaw last season and pitched admirably for his new squad. Moore pitched to the tune of a 3.72 ERA (3.52 FIP, 4.41 xFIP) and a 1.32 WHIP. Even though he ran a 4.32 BB/9, Moore compiled an improved 8.88 K/9 and 0.60 HR/9 in the Bay. He is a early-to-mid round selection in all leagues. The fifth spot is up for grabs at the moment. Matt Cain, Albert Suarez, Ty Blach and Tyler Beede are competing for the spot. None of these players bring much fantasy value to the table for 2017.

As mentioned earlier, Melancon should be one of the first couple of closers chosen in drafts in 2017. Hunter Strickland and Derek Law will compete for the setup job this spring training. Fantasy owners should keep an eye out to see who wins the gig come Opening Day.

 

Prospects Overview

San Francisco sports one of the more lackluster farm systems in the majors. Nonetheless, the Giants have two prospects ranked in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects. Beede is the highest ranking prospect for San Fran, coming in at number 88. He is projected to debut sometime in 2017. He built to be a starter, but as mentioned previously, he will be vying for a rotation spot. Even if he earns the spot, Beede probably won't have a serious enough fantasy impact. Scouts have said Beede offers average stuff and iffy command and has little upside.

The Giants number two prospect is infielder Christian Arroyo, who is ranked number 89 in the top 100. Arroyo has logged playing time at third and second base as well as shortstop. Those positions seemed to locked up for the moment at the major league level. So Arroyo does not hold any fantasy value this upcoming year either.

 

Conclusion

The San Francisco Giants are primed for another run at the National League West Division crown. Although the Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be the odds on favorite to win that title. In terms of fantasy baseball, fantasy owners will have an array of options to sort and choose from on offense and on pitching to fill out their rosters on draft day.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Geno Smith14 mins ago

Raiders, Geno Smith Agree To Two-Year Extension
Jeferson Quero29 mins ago

Set Back With Hamstring Injury
Eguy Rosario42 mins ago

Clears Waivers, Outrighted To Triple-A
Xavier Isaac48 mins ago

Rays Hopeful Xavier Isaac Will Return In A Couple Of Weeks
Angel Genao55 mins ago

Won't Return Until June
Austin Wells1 hour ago

Being Rested On Thursday
Paul Goldschmidt1 hour ago

Sitting In Finale Against Arizona
Masataka Yoshida1 hour ago

Not Ready For Rehab Assignment
Edward Cabrera1 hour ago

Goes Three Innings In Rehab Start
1 hour ago

Tyler Shough Could Be Day 2 Pick In NFL Draft
Jake McCarthy2 hours ago

Gabriel Moreno, Jake McCarthy Sitting On Thursday
Dallas Cowboys2 hours ago

Shemar Stewart Meeting With Cowboys Staff
Ketel Marte2 hours ago

Sitting On Thursday After Signing Extension
New York Giants2 hours ago

Travis Hunter The Likely Pick For Giants?
Jake Meyers2 hours ago

Taking Seat For Third Straight Contest
Dallas Cowboys2 hours ago

DeMarvion Overshown Aiming For Comeback Player Of The Year Award
Luis Garcia2 hours ago

Shut Down With Elbow Inflammation
Brett Harris2 hours ago

Activated, Optioned To Triple-A
Yainer Diaz2 hours ago

Sitting On Thursday
Washington Commanders3 hours ago

Commanders Sign T.J. Maguranyanga
Kansas City Chiefs3 hours ago

Mike Edwards Reunites With Chiefs
New Orleans Saints3 hours ago

Saints Could Take A Quarterback Early In The Draft
Carlos Rodón3 hours ago

Carlos Rodon Undergoes X-Rays After Taking Liner Off His Arm
Drew Waters4 hours ago

Hits For The Cycle On Wednesday
Harry Ford4 hours ago

Showing Strong Eye Through First Taste Of Triple-A
Christian Vázquez4 hours ago

Christian Vazquez Getting The Day Off
Jose Miranda4 hours ago

Out Again On Thursday
Chase Meidroth4 hours ago

Launches Second Long Ball
Lucas Giolito4 hours ago

Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito "Not Close" To Returning To Rotation
Joe Milton III6 hours ago

Traded To Cowboys
Anfernee Simons7 hours ago

Could Be Absent Again Thursday
Scoot Henderson7 hours ago

Misses Third Consecutive Game Thursday
Scottie Barnes7 hours ago

Iffy For Thursday
Immanuel Quickley7 hours ago

Takes Thursday Off
Jakob Poeltl7 hours ago

Sits Out Thursday's Game
Damian Lillard7 hours ago

May Return To Action Sooner Than Expected
Giannis Antetokounmpo8 hours ago

Likely To Suit Up Thursday
LeBron James8 hours ago

Probable Thursday
Jared McCann9 hours ago

Tallies Three Helpers On Wednesday
Jackson Blake9 hours ago

Scores Twice In Victory
Artemi Panarin9 hours ago

Tallies Three Points In Overtime Victory
Andrei Svechnikov10 hours ago

Exits Early On Wednesday
Jake McCabe10 hours ago

Suffers Injury On Wednesday
Jonathan Drouin10 hours ago

Exits Wednesday's Contest
Los Angeles Chargers18 hours ago

Chargers Sign Tight End Jordan Petaia
18 hours ago

Matthew Golden Making Pre-Draft Visit To Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals18 hours ago

Trey Hendrickson Not Looking For Short-Term Deal
Tutu Atwell19 hours ago

Rams Plan To Give Tutu Atwell A Bigger Role In 2025
Tampa Bay Buccaneers19 hours ago

Bucs Restructure Antoine Winfield's Deal To Free Up Cap Space
Jrue Holiday21 hours ago

Won't Play Against Miami
New York Jets21 hours ago

Xavier Newman-Johnson Re-Signs With New York
Al Horford21 hours ago

Sidelined Versus Heat
Kristaps Porzingis21 hours ago

Ruled Out On Wednesday
Fred VanVleet21 hours ago

Out Versus Utah
Dean Wade22 hours ago

Sidelined On Wednesday
Trae Young22 hours ago

Expected To Suit Up On Wednesday
Joel Embiid22 hours ago

Will Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On His Left Knee
Evgeni Malkin22 hours ago

Joins Penguins For Road Trip
Filip Chytil23 hours ago

Could Miss Rest Of Season
Declan Chisholm23 hours ago

Back In Action Against Rangers
Keaton Wallace23 hours ago

Sidelined Again On Wednesday
Samuel Girard23 hours ago

Exits Avalanche Lineup Wednesday
Joel Kiviranta23 hours ago

Returning Against Blackhawks
Eeli Tolvanen23 hours ago

Misses First Game Of The Season
Jaden Schwartz23 hours ago

Unavailable Against Canucks
1 day ago

Kyle McCord Rising Up Draft Boards?
1 day ago

Ashton Jeanty To Raiders Continues To Gain Steam
1 day ago

Emeka Egbuka To Fall To Round 2?
Los Angeles Rams1 day ago

Rob Havenstein Expected To Be Ready For Training Camp
Cleveland Browns1 day ago

Mike Hall Likely To Miss Offseason Program After Having Knee Surgery
New England Patriots1 day ago

Christian Barmore Expected To Be Ready For Offseason Workouts
Bennedict Mathurin1 day ago

Iffy For Wednesday
Myles Turner1 day ago

May Miss Another Game Wednesday
Al Horford1 day ago

Considered Doubtful Wednesday
Jrue Holiday1 day ago

Questionable For Wednesday's Game
Kristaps Porzingis1 day ago

Listed As Questionable For Wednesday
Evan Bouchard1 day ago

Tallies Two Assists In Victory
Jake Guentzel1 day ago

Tallies Goal, Assist In Victory
Kirill Marchenko1 day ago

Scores Hat Trick On Tuesday
Tage Thompson1 day ago

Stays Hot On The Scoresheet
Lane Hutson1 day ago

Dishes Out Three Helpers In Overtime Victory
Alex Ovechkin1 day ago

Tallies Two Points In Victory
Cameron Young2 days ago

A Player To Avoid At Valero Texas Open
Kurt Kitayama2 days ago

In Search Of Consistency At Valero Texas Open
Si Woo Kim2 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back At Valero Texas Open
Tom Hoge2 days ago

Looking To Build Off Strong Performance At The PLAYERS Championship
Matt Fitzpatrick2 days ago

Looking For Consistency At Valero Texas Open
Corey Conners2 days ago

Continues Strong Form Ahead Of Valero Texas Open
Patrick Cantlay2 days ago

Eyeing Victory At Valero Texas Open
Gary Woodland2 days ago

Showing Great Form Ahead Of Valero Texas Open
Akshay Bhatia2 days ago

Aiming For Repeat At Valero Texas Open
Alejandro Tosti2 days ago

A Volatile Choice At TPC San Antonio
Jimmy Snuggerud2 days ago

Ready For NHL Debut Tuesday
Jacob Trouba2 days ago

Set To Rejoin Ducks Lineup Tuesday
Jordan Spieth2 days ago

Needs To Find Consistency At TPC San Antonio
Jake Knapp2 days ago

Making First Appearance At Valero Texas Open
Michael Kim2 days ago

Looking To Find The Magic Again In San Antonio
Tommy Fleetwood2 days ago

Is Nearly A Must-Play At Valero Texas Open
Tony Finau2 days ago

Hoping For Better Approach Play In San Antonio
Eric Cole2 days ago

Trending In Right Direction Ahead Of Valero
Sam Stevens3 days ago

Enjoys Nice Result In Houston
PGA3 days ago

J.T. Poston Seeks To Contend At Valero Texas Open
Denny McCarthy3 days ago

Keeps Making Cuts But Needs To Make More Putts
Brian Harman3 days ago

Off To A Subpar 2025 So Far
Ryan Preece3 days ago

Has Three Straight Top-10 Finishes For First Time In His Career
NASCAR3 days ago

Bubba Wallace After Third-Place Finish At Martinsville: "What a Great Day"
Todd Gilliland3 days ago

Has Mistake-Free Day At Martinsville, Grabs Another Top-10 Finish
Brandon Moreno3 days ago

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Steve Erceg3 days ago

Losses Third Consecutive Fight
Drew Dober3 days ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC Mexico City
Manuel Torres3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Harry Hall3 days ago

Bounces Back In Houston Last Week
CJ Vergara3 days ago

Gets Submitted
Édgar Cháirez3 days ago

Edgar Chairez Gets Submission Win At UFC Mexico City
Vince Morales3 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC Mexico City
Raul Rosas Jr.3 days ago

Gets Decision Win At UFC Mexico City
Saimon Oliveira3 days ago

Still Winless In The UFC
David Martinez3 days ago

Wins His UFC Debut
Kevin Borjas3 days ago

Earns His First UFC Win
Ronaldo Rodríguez3 days ago

Ronaldo Rodriguez Suffers His First UFC Loss
Christopher Bell3 days ago

Powers His Way To A Second-Place Finish At Martinsville
Chase Elliott3 days ago

Strong Martinsville Performance Ends With A Top-Five Finish
Kyle Larson3 days ago

Collects A Top-Five Finish At Martinsville
William Byron3 days ago

Places 22nd After Struggles At Martinsville
Joey Logano3 days ago

Claims His First 2025 Top-10 Finish After Up-And-Down Performance
Tyler Reddick3 days ago

Fails To Place In The Top 10 At Martinsville
Denny Hamlin3 days ago

Silences Doubters After Crew-Chief Change
Ty Gibbs3 days ago

Earns Best 2025 Finish At Martinsville Despite Failing Cool Suit
Ross Chastain3 days ago

Has A Great Day At Martinsville
Chase Briscoe3 days ago

Has Solid Run At Martinsville
Erik Jones3 days ago

Disqualified At Martinsville For Weight Violation
Josh Berry4 days ago

Has Top-10 Upside At Martinsville
Joey Logano4 days ago

Don't Overlook Joey Logano This Weekend
Ryan Preece4 days ago

Could Get First Three-Race Top-10 Streak Of His Career
Chase Elliott4 days ago

Looking To Continue Great Runs At Martinsville
Christopher Bell4 days ago

Wins Pole At Martinsville, But Can He Stay Up There?
Ryan Blaney4 days ago

Fast In Practice But Skeptical About Car
Denny Hamlin4 days ago

New Crew Chief Has Terrible Martinsville Record
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Russell Wilson - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL DFS Picks

Fantasy Football Outlooks For QBs On New Teams: Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, more

The NFL quarterback carousel gets to spin every offseason, and plenty of QBs have already found new homes ahead of the 2025 NFL season. For fantasy football, a player's surrounding team is extremely important, so it's worth looking into each of their outlooks with their new squads. There are still a few unsigned QBs, but […]


Shedeur Sanders - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

2025 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Mock Draft: 12-Team, Superflex/Two-QB

The 2025 NFL Draft is still less than 30 days away. Therefore, dynasty fantasy rookie mock drafts are nearly here. Much will change between now and the NFL Draft. However, it’s time for another dynasty rookie mock draft. This rookie mock draft is a two-round, 12-team, and two-quarterbacks. For a deeper dive into dynasty strategy, […]


Deshaun Watson - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2025 NFL Offseason Team Needs: Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Steelers

The AFC North, comprised of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers, sent two teams to the playoffs in 2024 and had one on the cusp of a playoff berth. The Ravens have the best roster of the four teams by a long shot. The Steelers have a solid defensive group, and […]


UFL RANKINGS, FANTASY FOOTBALL,

UFL Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 2: QB, RB, WR, TE Rankings and Analysis (2025)

Week 2 of the UFL season is just around the corner. This week will feature one game on Friday, one game on Saturday, and two on Sunday. Birmingham and Michigan will play at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, followed by Memphis-D.C. on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Sunday's game pits the 1-0 Renegades against the […]


Calvin Ridley - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Picks, Draft Sleepers

Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings: Overvalued, Undervalued Players (2025)

Dynasty fantasy football rankings constantly shift, especially as we inch closer to the new season and fantasy drafts. Dynasty managers know the importance of finding those underrated players who could be steals in drafts or trades. They also know some players are overhyped due to unsustainable trends or past production. I'll break down two overvalued […]


Justin Fields - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Best Fantasy Football Moves During 2025 NFL Free Agency

It has been a wild offseason so far in the NFL. Plenty of players have switched teams in free agency, and some stars were even traded. Deebo Samuel Sr. was dealt to the Washington Commanders, Geno Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, and DK Metcalf has a new home with the Pittsburgh Steelers. These […]


Tyreek Hill - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Three Aging Fantasy Football Players To Sell In Dynasty Leagues

It's hard to always know when to sell off your aging fantasy football players. Often, it's also difficult to accept that it's better to move on from a player when he's coming off a productive season and still has a lot left in the tank. But I believe it's better to be a year early […]


J.J. McCarthy - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Draft Sleepers

Five Fantasy Football Superflex Quarterback Breakouts, Draft Targets (2025)

If you’ve ever played in a Superflex fantasy football league, then you know how important quarterbacks are in this format. The ability to start multiple stud quarterbacks can carry you to a Superflex title. Unfortunately, finding two such players isn’t so easy. All the top signal-callers come off draft boards first, and that makes it […]


Omarion Hampton - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks - NFL Draft

Ideal Landing Spots For The Top 12 Fantasy Football Rookies - 2025 NFL Draft

Then, the NFL Draft continues to inch closer and closer. This is a very interesting class, with a handful of players who could be stars in the NFL and reshape fantasy football leagues going forward. Here are the ideal landing spots for the top 12 fantasy football rookies. These picks exist in conversation with each […]


Jalen Coker - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Eight Best Ball Late Round Value Fantasy Football Players To Target For 2025

Fantasy football is the most popular game in all of sports. It has gone from a paper-and-pen game to a multi-million dollar-a-year one. While redraft leagues are the most popular form of fantasy football, best ball leagues are quickly gaining steam. The best part of best ball leagues is the ability to draft thousands of […]


Abdul Carter - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2025 NFL Draft Rankings: Top 10 Fantasy Football Edge Rusher Prospects

Edge rusher is the most important, most coveted, and most highly-paid position on defense in the NFL. It stands to reason that the most important position in the entire game being quarterback, and by a wide margin, means the most important position on defense are the players that are tasked with disrupting opposing QBs as […]


Brock Purdy - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Picks

Brock Purdy Dynasty Fantasy Football Outlook and Trade Value

Despite becoming the all-time leading passer for the Iowa State Cyclones, Brock Purdy wasn't a highly touted prospect due to his perceived lack of athleticism. The 49ers picked him with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, but Mr. Irrelevant quickly proved everyone wrong. In his first two years, he started in back-to-back NFC […]


Michael Florio's Football Show - Podcast RotoBaller Network

Florio's Football Show: Scouting NFL Draft Prospects!

Michael F Florio goes over some of the top prospects from this years NFL Draft. Florio talks about what he looks for when watching prospect tape and explains what traits translate best to the NFL level. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (SiriusXM channel 87) on Sundays from 6-7 am. You can […]