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The San Francisco Giants are clinging to a .5 game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot, while the Cincinnati Reds are only .5 game ahead of the Diamondbacks for fifth in this tight race. Recently, the Giants welcomed back Mike Yastrzemski and Mitch Haniger back on the fold, and their reinforcements could not have arrived at a better time.
Paul DeJong has been a viable replacement for Brandon Crawford at shortstop, but San Francisco is still awaiting the return of Crawford and Michael Conforto. The Giants have been struggling immensely in the month of August as their postseason chances were close to being a lock before this month, but it has dwindled to a 50/50 chance likely until the end of the regular season.
With young manager Gabe Kapler at the helm, San Francisco has been employing unique and unusual strategies that has set them apart from their counterparts. The most obvious one has been his starting rotation strategy, which is heavily reliant on Logan Webb and Alex Cobb. For the other contests, he has no set rotation, but Kapler rotates five other pitchers who have all pitched over 70 innings this year.
The pitching is not an issue that will persist on September for the Giants, but it will likely focus on this one particular facet wherein the struggles have persisted for this squad for a bevy of years already.
Lack of offensive production
Despite being one of the best organizations in the MLB this season, the Giants only have a +3 run differential. Their offense is not known to be one of their strongest assets ever since the tenure of Bruce Bochy, so it has not been a surprising sight for their fanbase. Ranking 21st in homers and 20th in RBIs has been a clear indicator that San Francisco still needs to find a way for their offense to improve if they want to start gaining some distance in the NL Wildcard race.
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The aforementioned return of Yastrzemski and Haniger bring two incredible hitters in the batting order, but they are still searching for their rhythm and confidence. Thairo Estrada has been one of their best hitters, and it has been a revelation that he returned to the lineup after missing over a month because of a broken hand.
Patrick Bailey has been a dark horse candidate for NL Rookie of the Year as he has a WAR of 1.9 by tallying seven home runs and 45 RBI on a .257 batting average. Bailey's power has been crucial as his two-run homer the other night was vital in the win of Giants over their wildcard counterpart in the Reds. However, his highlight-worthy videos are from behind the plate, wherein he has caught 23 runners trying to steal a base in 2023.
Aside from Thairo Estrada and Patrick Bailey, it is the duo of Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. who have been integral in trying to manufacture offense for San Francisco. It has been eye-popping that no one from the squad has eclipsed the 20-homer plateau even with power hitters like Joc Pederson and Michael Conforto.
Veterans like Pederson, JD Davis, and Brandon Crawford have been struggling immensely, so the Giants will need them to be a threat if they will compete with some of the National League powerhouses like the Atlanta Braves or the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kapler has experimented with a plethora of batting and pitching combinations, and he will need to utilize his September magic to stave off the Diamondbacks and Reds from claiming the third NL Wild Card slot.
