What we learned from the first week of the season

The 2019 San Francisco Giants have completed one week of baseball which is just enough time to leave a lasting impression. From these seven games, we know how the rest of the season is going to shake out. Since Opening Day, the Giants have already DFA’d their starting right fielder and traded for a new one. If the team is making decision this large, that gives us reign to do some #analysis.

This team isn’t going to score a lot of runs or win even half their games. They will pitch, though. They’ll be like a cover band of the 2009 team, and like a cover band, they won’t be nearly as good. But if you lower your expectations (and add alcohol in responsible quantities) you can still have fun.

Some of the Giants performances have been predictable. Evan Longoria’s .261/.292/.435 slash line is par for the course, as is Gerardo Parra’s .263/.364/.316. Derek Holland and Dereck Rodríguez have been pitching like Derek Holland and Dereck Rodríguez. But who has revealed themselves to be the GOAT or, in several cases, the goat?

Steven Duggar will be the Giants’ first homegrown All-Star Outfielder since Chili Davis

The team leaders in fWAR for hitters are Steven Duggar and Madison Bumgarner, who are tied at 0.2 fWAR. Duggar is 8-for-28 with a homer and two doubles and that easily makes him the best hitter on the team. He’s also put together 5 DRS in the first week which is more than he was worth last year in six times as many innings.

Duggar is doing it all, and he’s proven that his arm won’t fall off. Heck, he might even be the MVP. Nothing can stop him. Not a thing.

He’s got a .467 BABIP, and he’s struck out 40 percent of the time.

Shhhhh…

Drew Pomeranz is back

He’s added 2.7 MPH to his fastball and he’s already maxed out higher than he did last season. This definitely means that all of his troubles last year were because of the bicep tendonitis, and that we’ll get the Pomeranz that was so good with the Padres a couple years ago.

Mark Melancon is also back

Did you see that inning against the Dodgers on Monday? Hoo boy, did he look good. Check out this curve against Joc Pederson.

It must be all that MLB Network he’s been watching. Isn’t that right, Mark?

Brandon Belt will hit 46 dingerzzzz

After hitting two dingers in the first week, Belt is on pace to become the first Giants hitter to have 20 homers in a season since Brandon Crawford hit 21 in 2015. Heck, it’ll be the first 30 homer season since Barry Bonds hit 45 in 2004. Have we pointed that out on McCovey Chronicles before? Seems like we haven’t.

Belt will account for about 40 percent of the Giants total home runs as they’ll only hit 115 over the season.

Farhan Zaidi knows nothing about hitting

Just because Farhan Zaidi spent a year watching Connor Joe tearing up Double-A and Triple-A, and because he had a pretty good hunch that Mac Williamson would clear waivers because other teams’ rosters were set, he thought he could give this guy a shot and see what he could do. Well, now Joe is on pace for a -6.9 WAR season.

Connor Joe, Kevin Pillar, Erik Kratz, and Michael Reed are a combined 0-for-33. How’s that for swing efficiency? Clearly, if Mac Williamson, Aramís García, and Austin Slater were on the Opening Day roster, the Giants would be 5-2, not 2-5.

Tony Watson is the pitcher version of Willians Astudillo

Over the winter, Tony Watson got caught up on how the three true outcomes (walks, strikeouts, and homers) are ruining baseball. He vowed never to walk or strikeout a guy ever again, and so far he’s held that up. Watson’s days of striking a batter out or walking him are over.

He’s going to give the fans what they want: ground balls to second and singles. Thank you, Tony Watson. Thank you for saving baseball.