San Francisco Giants News 2009 Roster
Giants 2009 Lineup Suited for Small Ball, Pitching Staff Dominating
Mar 26, 2009
The Giants will be more adept at playing small ball in 2009 with 2B/OF Eugenio Velez and 2B/SS Emmanuel Burriss getting more at bats. They are very raw offensively with little big league experience, however.
San Francisco Giants Lineup 2009: Small Ball Offense and Speed
Velez was very streaky on offense in 2008, amassing a .262 overall average. He did, however, manage to swipe 15 bases in just 275 at bats.
Burriss performed more consistently on offense than Velez in the big leagues last year. He batted .283 with a .357 OBP and stole 13 bases in just 240 at bats.
Burriss and Velez will both likely make the Giants 2009 roster. They are hitting the ball very well this Spring, and their speed could help the San Francisco lineup manufacture more runs in 2009.
San Francisco Giants Lineup 2009: Top of the Order
OF Randy Winn and newly acquired SS Edgar Renteria will likely bat one and two in the Giants 2009 lineup.
The Giants received much criticism for signing Renteria to a two-year, 18.5 million dollar deal. Renteria showed up to Giants camp much slimmer, but has not hit well in Spring Training. He could get bumped down in the lineup for one of the Giants hitters with more speed if he struggles early.
San Francisco Giants Lineup 2009: Run Producers Lack Power
Fred Lewis batted leadoff for most of the 2008 season, Giants Manager Bruce Bochy will rely on him to drive in runs out of the three-hole in 2009. Lewis showed some pop in his bat last year, but was more focused on reaching base as a table setter.
He will still steal 20-30 bases in 2009, but many will be surprised to see him breakout with a 20 homer campaign in 2009—no Giants hitter belted more than 16 home runs in 2008—now that he is being encouraged to take chances at the plate and swing harder.
Bengie Molina should duplicate his 2008 numbers in 2009. He hit extremely well with runners in scoring position, which is evident from his high RBI total (95) and relatively low home run total (16).
The Venezuelan Pablo Sandoval has absolutely raked at every professional stop he has made. After getting called up last year, Sandoval hit a whopping .345 for the Giants' weak offense.
Sandoval is a free swinger, and he will not keep up that pace over the long haul of a full major league season, but he is hitting .442 this Spring and appears adamant on proving his few critics wrong.
Sandoval will not infuse a great deal of power into the Giants offense, but he should prove to be a fine run producer in the middle of the Giants 2009 lineup and relieve some pressure from OF Aaron Rowand’s back.
San Francisco Giants Future: Prospects
C Buster Posey will spend 2009 in the minors working on little things, but he has shown in his few Spring Training at bats that his bat is already Major League quality.
The Giants' 24 year-old 3B prospect Jesus Guzman is batting .404 with 4 homers and 14 RBI in Spring as of March 26. His OPS is a eye-popping 1.312.
With Posey destined to be the Giants everyday catcher of the future and Guzman looking like the everyday 3B of the future, the Giants will have the good problem of finding a new home on defense for Sandoval in the next couple of years.
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