What Are The San Francisco Giants’ MLB Odds To Repeat As World Series Champions?

Posted by Alex Murphy on Thursday,August 27, 2015 6:14, EDT in

The San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014. In 2011 and 2013, they foundered a bit and didn’t even make the playoffs. However, there is some reason to be optimistic this year that they not only will return to the playoffs but will win the whole thing again. After all, they are within sight of catching the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Because the Central is so tough, the second-place team in the West is not likely to get a wild card, so if the Giants can pass the Dodgers, they will be in the playoffs – and the Dodgers will be out. So, what are the MLB odds of the Giants winning the World Series in 2015? Let’s take a look.

What Are The San Francisco Giants’ MLB Odds To Repeat As World Series Champions?

 


 

The Offense Is Solid

In years past, the Giants have leaned heavily on their pitching staff to get them through games. In 2015, the Giants offense is more solid than it has been historically. They are second in average in MLB and are 10th in runs overall. This is pretty good, especially when you consider that the starting outfield has not been in place for much of the year. Nori Aoki, Hunter Pence and Angel Pagan have all missed significant stretches, and the DL still is the dwelling place of Joe Panik.

At third base, Matt Duffy has filled I nicely for Pablo Sandoval, who has been underwhelming as a free agent signing in Boston. Duffy is just one of many players that the Giants have drafted and developed into major league contributors through their farm system. When Pence is healthy, he and Buster Posey are two of the more frightening right-handed bats in the major leagues.

The Starting Rotation Could Be Solid

Yes, there’s Madison Bumgarner. He picked the Giants up and carried them to their title last year, and he has become the best playoff pitcher since the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte. There will need to be other contributors in the rotation if the Giants are going to repeat. The Giants did get Mike Leake from Cincinnati, but he has been hurt. Matt Cain has returned from injury, but he has not pitched as well as he needs to. Jake Peavy is a reliable righty, and Chris Heston has a no-no of his own this year. Tim Lincecum and Tim Hudson are still too unhealthy to rely on at the present time, but that could change.

The Bullpen Is Still Terrific

The Giants’ bullpen is 9th in Major League Baseball for ERA and 10th in opponent batting average. Santiago Casilla has had a fine season with 29 saves, although he has gone through some struggles. Sergio Romo, who moved from closer to setup man, has lowered his ERA to 3.38 through the last 15 starts. Lefthanders Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez still keep lefthanded hitters guessing. The long man, Yusmeiro Petit, still has the MLB record for consecutive batters retired. All in all, the Giants have a lot of terrific pieces. The Dodgers, of course, have Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, two of the best starters in all of baseball. This division race will be an intriguing one down to the last day.

Sources
ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/stats/pitching/_/name/sf/san-francisco-giants)
Rotoworld.com (http://www.rotoworld.com/player/mlb/362/yusmeiro-petit)