The All-Star break comes at a welcome time for the Giants, and probably most of their fans as well. A taxed starting rotation and bullpen especially were in need of a breather. There’s been enough retrospect. No one is happy that the Giants roll into the All-Star break at 47-50, but the horizon is the only direction we examine today.
Time to get hot
Even through the constant fog of mediocrity that has been Giants baseball since the start of 2022, the prospect that the team could get red hot at any moment has kept fans engaged. It happened in 2022 and 2023, but a scorching stretch hasn’t (yet) blessed the orange and black in 2024. The Giants have hung out a few games below .500 like neighborhood kids around a quarry. Never a debilitating losing streak, but never a winning streak that launches the squad into a temporary playoff spot.
Luckily, there may be no better time to put together the best stretch of the season than immediately after the All-Star break. Aside from one series in LA, the schedule gets pretty soft at the end of July and early days of August. The Giants resume play Friday night in Colorado for a three game set. After three at the Dodgers, they host the Rockies for four over the final weekend of July. Those 10 pre-trade deadline contests will do a ton of heavy lifting in terms of dictating the decisions of the brass as we head into August. Things get easier still after that. A pair of home games against the A’s precedes a seven game road trip at Cincinnati and Washington. When the Giants come home after that one, they get Detroit for three. It’s an incredibly soft schedule that could lead to the team getting comfortably above that .500 mark, but nothing has been easy for the 2024 Giants.
On Camilo Doval
As the Giants broke camp earlier this spring, you could have made a sound argument that closer Camilo Doval was the best pitcher on the roster– starter or bullpen. He had been an All-Star in 2023, and was poised to repeat that in 2024. Things haven’t gone as planned for Doval this season, with a handful of blown saves and some poor performances in non save situations evaporating Giants’ fans confidence in the once dominant right hander. Even those within the organization have been harsh when summarizing Doval’s struggles. Mike Krukow joined Murph and Markus on Monday morning and projected his displeasure with the Doval’s performance, which seemed to reach a tipping point when he blew a two run ninth inning lead to the Twins on Sunday.
I don’t think a demotion would be beneficial for Doval or the Giants. He hasn’t pitched poorly enough to warrant a trip to the Minor Leagues. Keeping his closer role may be a different story. With relievers like Ryan Walker, Tyler Rogers and (hopefully still) Sean Hjelle putting together strong seasons, the ninth inning could reasonably be up for grabs if Doval doesn’t turn things around quickly.
What to expect from reinforcement arms
Help is on the way for what has arguably been Major League Baseball’s thinnest pitching staff. Blake Snell is back and has looked much more like his Cy Young self in his final two starts before the break. Robbie Ray is set to make his Giants debut on the first road trip of the second half. And Alex Cobb shouldn’t be terribly far behind him. It’s fair to have lower expectations for these additions than we did in March, simply because the early performance of Snell and Soler extinguished the fiery passion fans collected when their wish list was largely delivered during spring training. Robbie Ray has a similar pedigree to that of Snell, and his rehab starts have been promising. Treat his starts with cautious optimism.
Ride the wave, Ramos
All too often in the post championship era, success from young position players has been short lived. Ramos’s charge and subsequent All-Star selection surpasses any of those previous pan flashes, but it’s fair to think there may be at least marginal regression in the second half. But fans should try to think of it from a glass half full standpoint. What if Ramos is a bona fide star? What if he continues to rake into August and September and becomes the first Giant to hit 30 home runs since 2004? It’s more likely than not that his success is sustainable.
