July Update: The outlook for the Giants was already gloomy but the shortened 60-game schedule has only made things worse. This is a good division that can beat up on the Giants (San Francisco is projected to win the fewest games), but more importantly, Buster Posey opted out of the 2020 season. Posey has good family reasons not to risk it and with the Giants in such a tough spot, his decision makes sense. This offense is going to be a popular one to roster pitchers against and fade on team totals.
It might finally be time to pay for all those recent World Series titles, as the Giants appear to be in trouble this season. This is an average pitching staff that lost Madison Bumgarner to the Diamondbacks and Tyler Beede to Tommy John Surgery. The rotation will be patched together by a couple of questionable acquisitions. But the offense is the real problem here. Following a year where the Giants ranked 28th in runs, the lineup has essentially done nothing to improve. Things might get worse for a team that won 77 games last season before they get better.
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DraftKings Sportsbook odds
— Division Winner: +8000
— League Winner: +12500
— World Series: +25000
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Key Departures:
Madison Bumgarner, SP; Will Smith, RP; Kevin Pillar, OF; Stephen Vogt, C; Drew Pomeranz, SP; Scooter Gennett, 2B
Key Acquisitions:
Kevin Gausman, SP; Drew Smyly, SP; Wilmer Flores, 2B; Hunter Pence, OF
2020 Fantasy MVP
Mike Yastrzemski, OF
The big names in this lineup are Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria and Buster Posey, but given how poor this offense performed last season, I’d argue all three are overvalued. Yastrzemski was one of the lone bright spots for the Giants last season, smacking a team-high 21 homers and 55 RBI in 107 games. A full season of Yaz should should almost certainly be the most valuable fantasy piece the Giants have to offer. At the same time, Yaz is one of the least valuable team MVPs we have on the board.
2020 Fantasy LVP
Brandon Belt, 1B
I put Belt’s name here because I think he’s considered the best hitter on the Giants. He hit just .234 with 17 home runs, 57 RBI and 76 runs scored in 156 games last season. That’s hardly what you’d like out of your No. 3 hitter. That said, Longoria and Posey weren’t much better. I’d avoid all three in season-long, and it’ll take fantastic matchups at cheap prices to convince me to stack the Giants in DFS. Longoria would be my preferred option of the three.
2020 Breakout Player
Alex Dickerson, OF
Dickerson is a little known name that should slot in near the top of the order this year for the Giants. He’s never played more than 84 games in a big league season, but was somewhat productive in 56 games with San Francisco last season — batting .290 with six homers and 28 RBI. If he can expand off of those numbers, and land a leadoff role or hit second for the Giants this season, this could be a deep sleeper that aurally exceeds value on a consistent basis.
Final Thoughts:
The bottom line is that the Giants are not going to have much fantasy value this season. It’s going to take targeting deep sleepers like Dickerson panning out over the course of the season to find the value we need. From a DFS perspective, it’ll come down to targeting the right values in the right matchups on rare occasions. Be patient, and only use the Giants as you need to.
For up-to-the-minute news, analysis and lineups, download the DK Live app and follow DK Live on Twitter @dklive.
For sports betting, head over to DraftKings Sportsbook or download the DK Sportsbook app.
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