Giants Joe Panik Starting the Season Off Right
By Bill Pivetz
Giants second baseman Joe Panik is crushing the ball in the first week. Should you add him to your fantasy team?
The San Francisco Giants added two big names in the offseason but it’s second baseman Joe Panik that is lighting up the stat sheets early in the season. In a position with a shallow elite tier, Panik making a splash this early will draw a lot of attention. If you are in a deep league or have room in your middle infield spot, he is worth the add.
Panik started the season with a home run in the first two games of the season, the only runs the Giants scored in those games. He is hitting .400 with two home runs, two RBI and two runs. The downside is that when he got on base the four other times, his teammates were unable to drive him home.
As of this writing, Panik hit his third homer of the year and is 1-for-3 against the Seattle Mariners. He hit a total of 10 home runs in each of his previous two seasons. The fact that he’s already 30 percent there is a good sign.
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If Panik can stay healthy, a career-high 138 games played in 2017, then a 15-home run season is possible. He just has to hit them when his teammates are on base or else he may not eclipse his 62 RBI from 2016.
Panik is hitting atop the Giants lineup, four games second and one game leadoff. This gives him plenty of opportunities to get at-bats and rack up those hits, and apparently home runs.
The Giants have one more game against Felix Hernandez and the Mariners on Wednesday. They then have a three-game series at home against the Dodgers, who will throw out Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill in the first two games.
All three of those pitchers are vulnerable to bad games. This could be the week where the rest of the Giants offense wakes up and give Panik some support and help everyone involved.
After that, the Giants welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks. While AT&T Park is still at the bottom of the Park Factors, after five games, Panik will more than hold is own at the top of the lineup.
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Panik is owned in just 42.5 percent of ESPN and 57 percent in CBS leagues. I don’t have the numbers for Yahoo! leagues. If Panik continues to hit like he is, that number will continue to rise. With few reliable second basemen, Panik will be worth the add for at least a backup option.