The Giants Are the Ultimate Wild Card in the NL Playoff Race
The Giants are within striking distance of a Wild Card spot, but they need to cross their fingers that their hottest players keep rolling.
With just six weeks remaining in the regular season, the NL Wild Card race continues to escalate. Team win streaks are valuable and losing skids aren’t affordable as we get closer and closer to writing more baseball history. Every year, teams trend up and squeeze into a wild card spot (especially after the new format) or hit a road bump and can’t salvage the season, costing them a ticket to October.
A handful of potential postseason teams are chosen, based on their activity at the trade deadline. Those who buy show they are in to make a postseason push gathering reinforcements to fill weaknesses in their roster. Although this season, the San Francisco Giants were criticized for making minor moves. Both trading away and receiving players without leaning either way.
This especially was a surprise since the Giants President of Baseball Operations, Farhan Zaidi, is on the hot seat after making one playoff appearance (2021) in five seasons. Going one for six, would call for a new captain to steer the ship in San Francisco.
Since then, the Giants have flipped the script proving they’re still in the mix sitting four games back from a Wild Card spot. They’ve won three of their last four series and have found themselves on the front doorstep of the final Wild Card spot. Albeit, four of the last five series have come against teams under .500 and their schedule doesn’t get any harder. But this opens the door to making history and potentially being the fourth NL West team in the playoffs this October.
Rely on the Rotation
Farhan and the Giants are winning off exactly what they were betting on, dominant pitching to lead the way. The rotation has been stellar and the young guys are stepping up big time at the plate. It’s a strong start but can it propel them enough to surpass Atlanta (who they just lost 3/4 games to at home) and the Mets?
Blake Snell has been pitching like prime two time Cy Young winner. Since July 9, he’s thrown an almost flawless 45.1 innings with an 0.99 ERA and 60 strikeouts including his first career no-hitter. Pitching like the best arm in baseball has paired very well with teammate Logan Webb. Just two runs allowed through 29.1 innings has earned him a 2.03 FIP in his last four starts. Their dominant combo was exactly what Giants fans had dreamed of when Snellzilla inked his two-year deal with San Francisco in March.
The babies of the rotation, Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison, have hit a road block raising their season ERAs above four over their last two starts. Robbie Ray is just getting his feet wet with only 21 innings under his belt this season after receiving Tommy John surgery last May. If him or Harrison (or both) can pitch the type of game they are capable of doing, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that this team can make a statement down the stretch.
Preseason injuries, late signings and midseason injuries have interrupted any potential rhythm in the rotation to begin the year. What Zaidi has now is the rotation healthy and motivated for a playoff push. If Ray and Harrison can click sooner rather than later, their pairing of two of the hottest aces in baseball should be a strong enough wave for any offense to ride into October with.
The Offense
This offense has perfectly defined the word inconsistent all year. Dropping series against Toronto and Colorado then going on promising win streaks have given their fans a headache. Part of this could be due to how young this lineup has become. Injuries and underperformances have opened opportunities for standouts like Tyler Fitzgerald, Brett Wisely and All-Star Heliot Ramos.
Ramos and Fitzgerald have been the best hitters in the lineup over the last month and neither were active until late May. Ramos has filled the role of headline free agent signee Jung Hoo Lee who’s missed nearly the entire year with a shoulder injury. Despite a recent slump, he’s still slashing .279/.335/.490 with a 130 wRC+.
Fitzgerald stole the shortstop job from Nick Ahmed after breaking records previously owned by Barry Bonds. He also became the first Giants rookie to ever hit a home run in five straight games. Outside of breaking records, he’s hitting .316 with a .986 OPS and is one of the fastest players in baseball ranking. Backing up his offensive surge with 4 OAA has earned him the every day job over top prospect Marco Luciano as well.
Star catcher, Patrick Bailey, and in my opinion the foundation of this team along with Logan Webb, is another name struggling at the plate as of recently. Just 5-for-54 over a 15 game span is hard to watch but Bailey’s productivity behind the plate hasn’t skipped a beat. Despite this forgettable stretch, Bailey still leads all catchers with a 3.7 WAR and in the 100 percentile in caught stealing above average and framing. This is a bat that when hot, the rest of the lineup seems to follow suit.
Is the Wild Card Within Reach?
This rotation has made a statement and with a weak schedule ahead of them, it’s hard to confidently say they will miss the postseason. Their inconsistent offense will determine whether or not they play October baseball because Snell and Webb are almost guaranteed wins every trip through the rotation.
With 36 games left in the season, the Giants should eye a 23-13 record to end the year. That would give them 87 wins which would be good enough for them to clinch a Wild Card berth in each of the last three’s years of the new playoff format.
For any Giants fan, that may sound out of reach for this team based off the product we’ve seen through 126 games this year. However, their remaining schedule gives them more than enough opportunities. Favorable matchups against the White Sox, A’s and Marlins. Then chances to gain ground on other teams in the Wild Card hunt like the D-Backs, Padres and Cardinals.
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Spencer Tracy is heading into his Senior year at Xavier University pursuing a degree in Communications and Sports Management. This is his second season writing for…