Fantasy baseball: 2020 San Francisco Giants fantasy preview
By Mike Marteny
2020 San Francisco Giants projected starting lineup:
Brandon Crawford, SS (.228, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 3 SB in 500 AB)
Evan Longoria, 3B (.254, 20 HR, 69 RBI, 3 SB in 453 AB)
Brandon Belt, 1B (.234, 17 HR, 57 RBI, 4 SB in 526 AB)
Buster Posey, C (.257, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 0 SB in 405 AB)
Mike Yastrzemski, RF (.272, 21 HR, 55 RBI, 2 SB in 371 AB)
Alex Dickerson, LF (.276, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 1 SB in 174 AB with SD/SF)
Mauricio Dubon, 2B (.274, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB in 106 AB)
Billy Hamilton, CF (.218, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 22 SB in 316 AB with KC/ATL)
Taking a look at this roster, I don’t know if any Giants go in the top ten rounds. The biggest power threat on the team is sophomore Mike Yastrzemski. He’s a solid pick in the late teens, but there’s better above him. He’s a fourth of fifth outfielder on your fantasy team.
Alex Dickerson is probably in a straight platoon with Hunter Pence. Unless that changes, neither of them are a fantasy asset.
The days of Crawford, Longoria, belt, and Posey being big fantasy assets are gone. Crawford has a .249 career average and .316 OBP. That’s not indicative of a leadoff hitter. Crawford and Longoria still have enough to be later round picks, but at that point in the draft, we are mostly looking for prospects. I like those veterans in deep leagues, but they are mostly injury replacements now.
Even Posey isn’t among the top 12 catchers this year. Belt is a reach at 1B as well. Longoria is probably the best of the slew of veterans.
Dubon could be a nice pick to fill your MI slot. He played well down the stretch with the Giants last year, showing a solid average and decent pop with decent speed. I like him in the late rounds as a backup.
Billy Hamilton is the wild card here. I really thought he would do well with KC last year. That never came to fruition. He was much better in Atlanta in sparing time. If the Giants are committed to Hamilton as the everyday center fielder, he’ll swipe 50 bags with ease. You just have to deal with the low average. That hurts his draft stock, but Hamilton is an elite middle round grab for steals.
Prospects to watch:
Joey Bart has destroyed the low minors, but he’s still a little ways off from pushing Posey. However, if Buster struggles and Bart continues to feast at AAA, he’ll be up by late summer. Bart is worth the add when he gets called up and is worth stashing if you have a deep bench. He’s the Giants’ top prospect for a reason.
Jaylin Davis struggled in his September callup, but he hit .306 between high A and AAA last season. If Hamilton struggles, we could see Davis much sooner than September. He has enough power to be on your radar if he gets the call.