Considering a best bet for the San Francisco Giants 2020 win total

The San Francisco Giants started to make people believers midway through the season and especially in the month of July. When rumblings of trading Madison Bumgarner were burning the headlines, the team snapped off a month in which they went 19-6, turning their 37-47 record into 55-53, putting them two games over .500 after starting 10 games under. However, they couldn’t have gone on a cold streak faster, as the month of August — with Bumgarner still in their possession and likely heading to free agency — turned it into a lost season. They went 11-16 while all hopes of a playoff spot disappeared. It looks to be another struggle of a season in 2020 with so many key losses and a lack of reloading at these positions.

Additions

SP Drew Smyly
SP Kevin Gausman
SP Tyson Ross
RP Daniel Winkler
RP Jake Jewell

Subtractions

SP Madison Bumgarner
RP Will Smith
C Stephen Vogt
3B Pablo Sandoval
OF Kevin Pillar

Offseason news

The biggest story for the Giants this offseason was the end of their 11-year tenure with Bumgarner. When a departure is the story that’s grabbing the headlines, you know it can’t be a very exciting season coming up. To their credit, the Giants saved on paying from Bumgarner and grabbed a couple cheap starters to enter the rotation, specifically Smyly and Gausman. They’ll join Johnny Cueto, who has only made 13 starts over the last two seasons and the aging 35-year-old Samardzija. These pitchers should find a level of success at Oracle Park, which was one of the best pitchers parks in the league last season, allowing the least amount of runs and home runs per game.

While the Giants could potentially limit the number of runs allowed if their starters pan out, closing out the games could be an issue. The loss of Will Smith to the Braves leaves a significant hole in the backend of their bullpen, as Smith made 34 saves while striking out 96 batters through 65.1 innings, good for a 13.2 K/9. They could turn to Tony Watson, who closed out some games during his tenure with the Pirates but lacks true strikeout potential. Regardless, it looks as if the answer will come from an in-house option rather than signing a solidified option off free agency.

Finally, the offense is going to be the biggest detriment to this club. Vogt, Pillar and Sandoval combined for 45 home runs, 168 RBI and a 479 SLG. For reference, these three players combined for 29% of the Giants’ home runs and 25% of their RBI. For a team that was near the bottom of the league in almost all offensive categories, they should really struggle offensively. We also can’t ignore that this team is quickly getting older as well, as Evan Longoria is 34, Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford will be 33 and Brandon Belt will be 32.

Best bet

For a team that won 77 games last season and losing so many key pieces, especially offensively, I’m really struggling to see them go over their 69.5 win total on the DraftKings Sportsbook. Aside from the Giants and Rockies, the Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks all look primed to be very competitive, leaving the other two teams in the dust. With a lack of offense and back end of the bullpen, I can see the Giants struggle to score and likewise, struggle to maintain leads when they do. If these numbers happens to come down, I would still feel comfortable taking the under all the way down to 67.5 games. With this number being as high as it is at 69.5, I think you’re getting some really good value at the under at -110 odds.

Giants under 69.5 wins -118.

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