5 Reasons the Giants will win the World Series

5 Reasons the San Francisco Giants will repeat as World Series champions

By Jason Evans | Aug 20, 2015

Aug 18, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Santiago Casilla (46) celebrates with catcher Buster Posey (28) after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Giants defeated the Cardinals 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Aug 14, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy (5) fields a ground ball against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense

One of the most important parts of defending the crown is defense. The Giants defense has been one of the most important parts to their team for years, and this season has been no exception.

Buster Posey is one of the best offensive catchers in the game and his defense has increased as well. Posey is second among catchers in defensive runs saved with nine. He’s also fourth in pitch framing. Brandon Belt ranks first among first baseman for total zone runs, second for range factor and fifth for fielding percentage.

The problem defensively may be in the outfield. Hunter Pence and Angel Pagan are negative in the defensive runs saved, and Nori Aoki has dropped off considerably from last year. Chris Heston has a 54% groundball rate. He’s the only starter over 50% ground ball rate.

The Giants as a team have the third fewest errors in baseball, even if their outfield defense doesn’t grade out well in the advanced metrics. They also rank fourth in fielding percentage.

If the Giants can improve on their outfield defense, it may be enough to get their pitching over the hump.

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