San Francisco Giants projected lineup, rotation for 2022 MLB season

How long did it take you to believe in the San Francisco Giants last season? For some, that moment may not have arrived until they finally clinched the NL West Division on the final day of the regular season. Using a mix of castoffs, aging veterans and unproven youngsters to win 108 games, the Giants were baseball’s most pleasant surprise. Can they pull off anything close to a repeat this year? Let’s take a look at their projected lineup.

San Francisco Giants projected starting lineup

1. Mike Yastrzemski (RF)
2. Tommy La Stella (2B)
3. Brandon Crawford (SS)
4. Brandon Belt (1B)
5. Darin Ruf (DH)
6. Joc Pederson (LF)
7. Wilmer Flores (3B)
8. Steven Duggar (CF)
9. Joey Bart (C)

The Giants alter their lineup more than any team in the league, so don’t get too attached to this lefty-heavy collection. The person with the most eyes on him this year is probably Bart, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 Draft and a top-100 prospect for the past few years. It’s not easy to replace one of the most important players in any franchise’s history, but that’s what Bart will have to do in the wake of Buster Posey’s retirement. This crew is already off to a rough start as Belt (knee) is already banged up, and La Stella is still making his way back from offseason Achilles surgery. The Giants will also have to make do without third baseman Evan Longoria and outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. for a while as both are dealing with injuries. Crawford will have to be this group’s leader after he turned in a career-best season in his age-34 campaign last year.

Projected rotation

Logan Webb
Carlos Rodon
Anthony DeSclafani
Alex Wood
Alex Cobb

Webb announced himself as a true ace last season, posting a 3.03 ERA across 148.1 innings. The Giants lost Kevin Gausman in free agency, but signing Rodon is a pretty nice replacement — as long as the lefty can stay on the mound. He hasn’t pitched more than 135 innings in any season since 2016. Wood and Cobb have similar concerns, but both have proven to be at least league-average starters when healthy. This rotation should benefit from the presence of another southpaw in Matthew Boyd once he fully recovers from forearm surgery. He should return around midseason.