SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In a decade of playing in the major leagues, Buster Posey has worn a first baseman’s mitt in more than 200 games.
He might not do it again.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “But I would say that there are no plans to have Buster at first base anytime soon.”
At times during his career, former Giants manager Bruce Bochy would have Posey lose his catcher’s gear, grab a first baseman’s mitt and play the infield so the team could keep his bat in the lineup. As Posey turns 34 on Saturday, a new Giants regime led by Kapler and Farhan Zaidi still believe he can be a valuable hitter, but it’s clear his greatest asset is his defense behind the plate.
When Posey elected to sit out the 2020 season, the Giants learned just how important the veteran backstop was to game planning and helping young and veteran pitchers alike maximize their potential.
“I don’t think it’s giving anything away to say that we struggled at the catcher position last year,” Kapler said. “We just had a pretty significant lack of experience between (Tyler) Heineman, (Joey) Bart and (Chadwick) Tromp, all who have high ceilings, but certainly don’t have the experience level of Buster.”
After missing a week of games with right hip tightness, Posey returned to the Giants’ lineup Sunday against the Dodgers and said after his appearance that he hopes to play as much as possible this season. Neither Zaidi nor Kapler have expressed a target number of games for the veteran, but unless top prospect Bart forces his way onto the roster to split time with Posey during the first half of the season, it seems the Giants would also want their primary backstop handling pitchers as frequently as he can.
When Posey rests and his backup, Curt Casali starts, the Giants won’t be looking to use him at first base. Brandon Belt, Wilmer Flores and Darin Ruf all offer the Giants more power while the Giants believe Posey will be served well by a full day off.
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— Kevin Gausman is the new tone-setter atop the Giants’ rotation. Kapler officially announced the right-hander will take the ball on Opening Day against the Mariners while 14th-year veteran Johnny Cueto will pitch the second game of the season. Kapler detailed why the Giants made the move to Gausman and what it means for a pitcher who was easily the team’s most consistent starter last year.
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Down on the farm
Oracle Park has never been known as a hitter’s paradise, but the Giants’ farm system is loaded with players who hope to test its reputation.
Earlier this week, MLB.com announced the Giants have the second-highest ranked group of position player prospects, trailing only the Detroit Tigers who added No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson to their organization last summer.
Led by Bart, Marco Luciano and Heliot Ramos, the Giants have several players who project as middle-of-the-order hitters at the major league level and strong layers of depth behind their elite prospects. Outfielder Hunter Bishop, the team’s 2019 first round draft choice, has demonstrated elite bat speed while the Giants’ second round selection from the same draft class, first baseman Logan Wyatt, has impressed with his plate discipline and gap-to-gap approach during spring training.
What’s most exciting for the Giants and their fans is that beyond the group that received invites to major league camp this spring, there are a number of players who could be producing for a mostly homegrown lineup within the next few seasons. Outfielder Luis Matos is considered a top 100 prospect by several outlets while infielder Luis Toribio showed off a swing during summer camp last year that was reminiscent of Pablo Sandoval’s early career cuts from the left-handed batter’s box.
The Giants’ four position players among MLB’s top 100 prospects are tied for the most with the Rays and Diamondbacks, and the good news for San Francisco is that two players the organization is really high on — infielder Will Wilson and catcher Patrick Bailey — didn’t crack the list.
The last time the Giants had this many highly-rated prospects, the organization quickly found itself competing for and winning titles. It might be impossible to replicate the success a homegrown core led by Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner and many more achieved, but there’s at least hope that within the next few seasons fans will see players the Giants drafted, signed and developed leading them into the postseason and competing atop the National League West.
Statcast Study
Ask Gausman how he achieved his success in a Giants uniform last year and he’ll give you a simple explanation.
“They just kind of helped me to be my own guy,” Gausman said. “Not necessarily fit in this mold that a lot of pitchers are in right now which is sinker-slider guys or high spin rate guys or guys who have really good sliders. I’ve never been one of those guys.”
Take a look at Gausman’s numbers from his first season in San Francisco and they’ll provide more context for the pitcher’s explanation.
Of the more than 900 pitches Gausman threw for the Giants last season, only 6.8% were sliders. After several years of trying to mix a slider into his regular repertoire with the Orioles, Gausman essentially nixed the pitch in 2019 when he found success pitching out of the Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen.
Gausman’s 4.03 ERA in 15 games with the Reds wasn’t eye-popping, but Giants scouts watched him ride a dominant splitter to rack up 29 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings. They fell in love with Gausman’s primary off-speed pitch, signed him to a one-year deal ahead of the 2020 season and recently named him their 2021 Opening Day starter.
The key to Gausman’s trust in the Giants and the Giants’ trust in Gausman comes down to letting the right-hander do what he does best.
“I struggled early in my career trying to be one of those guys and it made me get away from doing the things that I do well,” Gausman said.
When Gausman takes the mound this season, expect him to use a mid-90s fastball up in the strike zone where he generates more whiffs and a dominant splitter that induced swings and misses 49% of the time he threw it last year. Fans will still notice a few sliders and an occasional changeup, but when the Giants’ top starter takes the mound, the coaching staff will want him to take advantage of his best offerings.
That’s the fastball and the splitter, making him a different kind of No. 1 starter than most others around the league.
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