2020 MLB San Francisco Giants World Series Odds & Picks

Not Much is Expected from the San Francisco Giants in 2020

To say the San Francisco Giants are in no man’s land is an understatement. Giants’ fans will always look back on the first half of the 2010s fondly. The franchise won three World Series titles from 2010 to 2014, but the team has made some terrible mistakes since that success.

Despite shelling out over $550 million in salary over the last three seasons, the Giants have averaged less than 71 wins a year in that timespan, and they have finished under .500 each time.

San Francisco is expected to shell out nearly $150 million in 2020, but the Giants are one of the longshots to win it all per the MLB futures odds. They are paying six veterans on the wrong side of 30 over $108 million, and they are expected to contend with the Colorado Rockies for last place in the NL West.

2020 San Francisco Giants World Series Betting Online Odds at FanDuel
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2020 San Francisco Giants Season World Series Odds Overview

The Giants are one of the most unlikely World Series winners in 2020. They have the longest odds to win the NL West at FanDuel, and every other team in the division has more reason to be optimistic. Not even the rosiest of projections has San Francisco finishing better than .500.

National League West

In 2019, San Francisco went 77-85 to finish in third place in the NL West. The Giants finished six games ahead of the Colorado Rockies and seven games ahead of the San Diego Padres, but their Pythagorean Win-Loss record indicates that they were rather fortunate to win 77 games. Because the Giants were outscored by 95 runs, they were expected to finish with a record of 71-91.

This team overachieved last season, and San Francisco got worse in the offseason with the loss of staff ace Madison Bumgarner and closer Will Smith. Meanwhile, Colorado stayed level after a listless offseason, and Los Angeles, Arizona, and San Diego all seem to have improved.

On the Hill

Jeff Samardzija will be San Francisco’s top arm entering the 2020 campaign. Samardzija went 11-12 with a 3.52 ERA last season, and he is the only proven starter in the rotation. He posted his best numbers since coming to San Francisco in 2016 last season, but he is now 35 and the front office is keen to trade him to a contender at some point this year.

Veteran hurler Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants will likely struggle in 2020.
Veteran hurler Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants will likely struggle in 2020. (AP)

Johnny Cueto had a strong first season in the Bay Area back in 2016, but he is a much different pitcher at this stage of his career. Cueto underwent Tommy John surgery halfway through the 2018 campaign and only pitched 16 innings in 2019. He is the biggest wildcard in the pitching staff as 80 percent of what he was four years ago would make him the best pitcher in the rotation, but no one knows what to expect from the veteran right hander.

Kevin Gausman, Drew Smyly, and Tyler Beede are projected to round out the rotation, while there is no official closer after the loss of Smith. Gausman and Smyly were both waived last season and Beede went 5-10 with a 5.08 ERA in 117 innings of work for the Giants.

At the Plate

The Giants’ lineup is full of well-known names that are past their prime. Evan Longoria is no longer the solid contact hitter he was in Tampa Bay, and the grind of being a catcher for the last decade has worn down Buster Posey. Both players are expected to decline in 2020, leaving San Francisco to hope that players like Brandon Belt and Mike Yastrzemski can pace the team.

Belt has had two straight down seasons after looking like a strong hitter in the middle part of the decade. He posted a .756 OPS in 2018 and a .742 OPS last year, and he has lacked the power you hope to have with a first baseman. He has yet to crank more than 20 home runs in a season, but he does have a good eye and takes a lot of walks.

The name Yastrzemski comes with expectations, and San Francisco would love it if Mike could follow in the footsteps of his grandfather Carl. After bouncing around the minor leagues for six years, he made his MLB debut at the age of 28 last season, and he performed much better than expected. He was the team’s best power hitter, slugging .518 in 107 games, and his 123 OPS+ could rise in his second season in the majors.

2020 San Francisco Giants World Series Projection

For the Giants to even make the playoffs, we would need an ‘Angels in the Outfield’ style turnaround. A half-dozen players would need to have career seasons, and that’s just not in the cards.

2020 San Francisco Giants World Series Free Pick

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