What the Kolten Wong Extension Means for Joe Panik

The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that Kolten Wong will be signing a 5 year extension to stay with the club through 2020 with a club option for 2021.

#STLCards sign Kolten Wong to 5-year deal thru 2020 with club option for 2021 pic.twitter.com/fPs77iE7Ae

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 2, 2016

Baseball Essential writer Corey Adams (@corey_adams) wrote about the Wong extension earlier today.

So what does this mean for the San Francisco Giants homegrown second baseman Joe Panik? Panik went to his first All-Star game in 2015 and won a championship with the Giants his rookie year. A back injury limited his 2015 season to 100 games. That means Panik will be heading into his 3rd different season in the Major Leagues, but he hasn't actually played a full season yet. However, the former 1st round pick has been impressive from the day he joined the Giants during their World Series run in 2014.

Panik had a slashline in 2015 of .312/.378/.455 with an OPS of .833, an OPS+ of 131 and a Wins Above Replacement of 3.3. He also played Gold Glove level defense at second base, and had he not been injured, may have been in the running for the award.

Wong, who played in 150 games in 2015, with a slashline of .262/.321/.386 with an OPS of .707, an OPS+ of 92 and a Wins Above Replacement of 2.2. Wong had a small sample size in 2013 and played in 113 games in 2014. Wong's career WAR is 3.9, which is only slightly higher than Panik's production in only 100 games in 2015.

The Giants recently gave an extension to Panik's double play partner Brandon Crawford earlier this off-season. The Giants also have long term deals set with Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner and newly acquired Jeff Samardzija. Johnny Cueto, another off-season acquisition, can opt out of his deal in two years, but could possibly be another long term fixture for the Giants.

Will Panik be the next player to get an extension? The team may also consider extensions for Brandon Belt and Matt Duffy as well. The Giants has shown a willingness to be patient with their extensions. Wong's deal certainly sets the bar for negotiations, so the question will be how much higher will the bar go for Panik?

Giants have grown the best infield in baseball

When the Giants had Barry Bonds in the middle of their lineup, they had a habit of giving up on prospects for veterans. This win now approach led to some post-season success, but the Giants never won a World Series with that approach.

Fast forward to 2015, and the Giants have three world championships because of a change in philosophy, that began with building through the farm system. This led to the team sticking with young first rounder Matt Cain, instead of trading him away like they had with so many others. And after some down years at the end of the Bonds era, the Giants used those drafts to re-stock their system for the long term. Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey got the most headlines, but the Giants started looking for players who were worth investing in long term.

This led to the Giants taking Brandon Crawford in the 4th round in 2008, Brandon Belt in the 5th round in 2009, Joe Panik late in the 1st round in 2011 and Matt Duffy in the 18th round in 2012.

Crawford had built a reputation with his glove in college, but his bat was inconsistent to say the least heading into the draft. So despite a much higher grade, he fell to the 4th round. His bat wasn't great in the minors either, but his glove kept him in the conversation for a call-up. However, even when he joined the team in 2011, he struggled at the plate. To put his bat in perspective, look at the similarities between Crawford and Andrelton Simmons at age 25.

Brandon Crawford, age-25 OPS+: 86 Andrelton Simmons, age-25 OPS+: 86 https://t.co/SbR7QyvHSY

— Grant Brisbee (@mccoveychron) November 13, 2015

However, the Giants believed in two things after winning a championship in 2010: 1. Pitching and defense is more important than offense. 2. Building through the farm system will pay off. Crawford slowly started to show improvement at the plate over the next two seasons. In 2015, he put it all together, earning a trip to the Midsummer Classic, winning his 1st Gold Glove and winning the Silver Slugger award as the best hitting shortstop in the National League.

Belt has always been an interesting case for Giants fans. For fans who believe in traditional stats more, Belt has been a disappointment. He has never hit 20 home runs, let alone 30 like fans expect, and he has never driven in more than 68 runs in a season. For fans who have embraced Sabermetrics more, Belt has been a strong two way player his entire career. He also set career marks in 2015 for home runs, runs batted in and walks with a slashline of .280/.356/.478. Also in 2015, Belt was awarded with his 1st ever Gold Glove nomination. Belt has always been criticized by fans for what he has not yet done, but his defense at 1st base, willingness to share the position with Posey without controversy, and his career .803 OPS are clearly valuable.

Panik missed 62 games in 2015, but his slashline of .312/.378/.455 led to a Silver Slugger nomination. He also showed off power he hadn't shown before with 8 home runs in his shortened season. Despite being the only Giants infielder not to be nominated for a gold glove, it may be because his best play came in a rehab start in Sacramento.

ICYMI, @JoePanik didn't need his glove to make this INSANE play in his 1st rehab start with the #RiverCats! @SFGiants http://t.co/vbnhgDgfRL — River Cats (@RiverCats) September 4, 2015

If Panik can put together a full season in 2016, he could beat out Dee Gordon for both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards at 2nd base.

Duffy didn't even start at third base for the first five weeks of the season, as the team had signed Casey McGehee to start at 3rd. Duffy also had never played 3rd base in his professional career. Despite not starting until May, Duffy earned a nomination for both a Gold Glove as well as Rookie of the Year. And if it wasn't for the existence of generational talents Nolan Arenado and Kris Bryant, he'd have a chance at winning both. In his first Major League season, Duffy, had a slashline a .295/.334/.428 that included 12 home runs. While 12 is certainly a small number, it's important to note that Duffy did not hit a single home run in his entire college career and only hit 13 home runs in three minor league seasons.

 His development, along with Panik, Belt and Crawford show a patient approach Giants fans weren't used to. The team's patience with their homegrown talent has been paramount to their success in both 2012 and 2014. In the 2014 World Series, the Giants ended game 7 with an entirely homegrown infield and battery. Bumgarner was on the mound, with Posey catching, Belt at 1st, Panik at 2nd, Crawford at short, and Pablo Sandoval at third.

 Despite the Giants missing the post-season in 2015, the infield was historically good. Posey, Belt, Panik, Crawford and Duffy became just the 7th full infield in baseball history where each player had a Wins Above Replacement of at least 3.3.

2015 @SFGiants became 7th team in baseball history via @baseball_ref to have all 5 IFs with a WAR of 3.3 or higher https://t.co/GTHbq3qIPx

— Candlestick Will (@CandlestickWill) November 12, 2015

The only other teams to accomplish this were the 2002 New York Yankees, 1983 Milwaukee Brewers, 1977 Texas Rangers, 1950 New York Giants, 1914 Philadelphia A's and 1906 Chicago Cubs. While the '02 Yankees infield consisted of homegrown talents as well like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Alfonso Soriano, they also included a huge free agent signing in Jason Giambi and a trade for Robin Ventura. The Brewers team in '83 happened to include two members of the Baseball Hall of Fame with Paul Molitor and Robin Yount.

 If you include Madison Bumgarner with the five infielders, they had a collective WAR of 29.7 in 2015. By comparison, the 2002 Yankees infield, along with Hall of Fame candidate Mike Mussina, had a combined WAR of 27.8. There are two things Giants fans can conclude from these numbers: 1. The Giants homegrown infield was great in 2015. 2. The Giants homegrown infield could be even better in 2016.

Giants will win in 2016 because: Even Year Magic...and talent.

The San Francisco Giants have had an interesting last 6 seasons. Three World Series championships. Three seasons without a playoff appearance. Every even season they win it all. Every odd year, they don't even make it to the dance. How can we explain this? It's very simple. Even year magic. Also, baseball is very hard and making the post-season is never easy. In pro basketball or hockey, more teams make the post-season than stay at home. In Major League baseball, only 10 of the 30 teams reach the playoffs, and two of the 10 only get guaranteed 9 innings.

There are some obvious reasons 2011, 2013 and 2015 ended without October baseball. For one, the team suffered some back breaking injuries, both literally and figuratively in each of those seasons. From Buster Posey's broken leg and Freddy Sanchez broken back in '11, to Angel Pagan's hamstring and Marco Scutaro's broken back in '13, to Hunter Pence's various injuries and Joe Panik's broken back in '15. If there was one thing we knew was going to happen in odd years, it was a critical member of the lineup was going down for several months and the team's second baseman was going to injure their back.

Fans wanted the "odd year curse" to be over this season, and had high hopes that the Giants could get back to the post-season in back to back years for the 1st time since 2002-03. There was reason to be hopeful too. Hunter Pence did play some games this season and the Giants were 34-18 in those games. That .653 winning percentage would translate to 105 wins. That doesn't mean the Giants were going to win 105 games, or even 95 games, but since the Dodgers won 92 games to win the National League West, a healthy Pence could have made a huge difference.

Also, there were those pesky 1 run games. The Giants won 19 1 run games in 2015, which is more than the 15 the Blue Jays won, but it was there 2-15 record in 1 run games down the stretch that made all the difference. The Giants had several starters out during those 17 games, including Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco and Nori Aoki and several key pitchers out, including Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson, Mike Leake and Jeremy Affeldt.

Looking ahead in 2016, there is room for much optimism. First and foremost, the Giants still have 3 of the best players in baseball in the prime of their careers. Madison Bumgarner will not win the Cy Young this year, primarily because of some of the greatest pitching seasons we've seen in the National League in a decade. However, Bumgarner had an incredible season that proves he is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. His 8.9 Wins Above Replacement over the past two seasons is 13th best in baseball. And compared to those other 12 pitchers, his ERA of 2.95 is tied for 10th best, while his FIP is 8th. He also hit 5 home runs this season and has become a legitimate threat to the lineup when he bats. His pinch hit at bats have become epic performances. His .468 Slugging percentage was higher than Evan Gattis and Prince Fielder, among others.

When healthy, Pence has been incredible for the Giants, as the 34-18 record and World Series victory in 2014 has showed in recent seasons. If Pence can get back to being an everyday player that can play 150 games, the Giants will be much improved without making any upgrades. Buster Posey is still the team's primary catcher, despite fans and media members questioning when he'll move to first base.  However, one of the main reasons he is the team's primary backstop is because he is an elite catcher. He may very well be a finalist for the Gold Glove this season, and could win it for his ability to throw out runners, call a game and frame pitches. His offense was once again MVP caliber, as he narrowly missed a 2nd batting title. If it wasn't for Bryce Harper's otherworldly season, Posey could make a case for his second MVP.

The Giants defense has always been a source of strength during their successful runs to the post-season and to the World Series, and the two main players in the greatest double play in World Series history are coming off tremendous seasons. Crawford and Panik are both going to be finalists for Gold Gloves in their own right, and Crawford also ended up leading the Giants in home runs with 21. He is the first shortstop to lead the Giants in home runs in over 100 seasons. Panik, despite a back injury that ended his season, had a tremendous sophomore year and will certainly be one of the anchors of the team going forward.

Third base was the biggest hole from last season with the departure of Pablo Sandoval, and not just because of his weight. Sandoval was a member of all three championship seasons and his absence was evident immediately. Casey McGahee, brought in to replace the "Panda" did so poorly in the first five weeks of the season, that rookie utility player Matt Duffy replaced him in the starting lineup. Duffy, who had never played third base regularly in his professional career, became an instant success, ended up winning the team's prestigious Willie Mac Award, and will be a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award. Like Posey, who will lose out to Harper, Duffy will probably lose out to Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs. However, Duffy has made fans, teammates and front office people forget about Sandoval and completes a homegrown infield with Posey, Crawford, Panik and Belt.

Injuries were the story all season in the outfield. Not only did the team miss Pence, but Pagan, Blanco, Aoki and Juan Perez all missed significant time. The team tried several players from outside the organization, from Justin Maxwell, who made the team out of spring, to Marlon Byrd and Alejandro De Aza, who the team traded for during the season. Byrd and Aoki could both be options to return in 2016. Blanco and Pagan are signed for next season, but will both be free agents in 2017. Pence is the only lock to be with the team in 2016, and he ended the season on the disabled list. Needless to say, the outfield has huge question marks.

The outfield isn't a huge concern for fans because they are too busy being worried about the starting rotation. For all the superlatives fans can say and make about Bumgarner, there isn't another pitcher in the rotation that is a lock to have a strong 2016. Jake Peavy is the most likely, after ending both 2014 and 2015 strong. However, there is no guarantee that Peavy will stay as effective as is the case with any pitcher in their mid-30's. Same goes for Matt Cain, a "horse" for the Giants for nearly a decade, Cain has struggled the last three seasons to stay healthy. Cain, who showed flashes of being his old self in the season finale, will need to be healthy if the team wants to battle in the National League next season. The team wants to re-sign Mike Leake, who will be a free agent this winter, but even if the Giants sign Leake, they may want to try to bring in another starter in case Cain struggles or in case some of their young pitchers, like Chris Heston, struggle. Heston, who had a very strong 1st half that included no hitting the New York Mets, struggled in the 2nd half and now his roster spot on the 25 man roster is in doubt. With Lincecum, Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong all free agents and Yusmeiro Petit due a raise in arbitration, the starting staff could look vastly different in 2016.

The bullpen and the bench are always in flux every season for every team. They are the two hardest areas of a baseball team to have consistency because of the nature of the job descriptions. The bench, in particular, because one of the hardest things to do in sports is to perform consistently when you play inconsistently. Same goes for the bullpen, where pitchers may go several day without pitching at all and other days where they pitch many days in a row. That being said, one of the strengths of the Giants these last six seasons has been the consistency of their bullpen. The "core four" as they have been named, each have three World Series rings. Affeldt is retiring, so the team will no longer have all four members of the core. Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez will all be back, but all will be in the final year of their contracts. So even if they all perform well in 2016, this could be the final year for the remaining three members of the core four. Josh Osich, another rookie who was brought up due to all the team's injuries, will look to replace Affeldt in the 'pen. Hunter Strickland, another rookie pitcher, will be asked to take on a more prominent role in 2016. George Kontos had a career year in 2015, and should be another lock for the bullpen next year.

The bench could include Byrd or Aoki or Blanco or Perez but it also could be rookies Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson, two of the young players promoted in September. Parker and Williamson may be long shots because they have the option of returning to Sacramento and start the year in Triple-A. The team has expressed interest in bringing Byrd and Aoki back. They may platoon in LF, or they may both begin the year on the bench. The team will only start the year with five outfielders, so if Pagan isn't traded, the team will have a numbers crunch. Andrew Susac should be back healthy and his play at catcher has been encouraging. One of the bright spots of 2015 was the late emergence of Kelby Tomlinson. Tomlinson is primarily a second baseman, so the team has suggested he spend time this winter in center field. Much like Duffy in 2014, Tomlinson was initially an afterthought in 2015, but now looks like he could be a key contributor in 2016. That may be the one positive to all the injuries is the opportunities it gave Tomlinson, Osich and others.

This winter will have a lot of Hot Stove talk about the Giants going after the top pitchers on the market, such as David Price, Zach Greinke, Jordan Zimmermann and others. However, the Giants have proven over the last six seasons that they don't always need to find the best free agents. Sometimes they just need to find the right fits for their ballpark and their clubhouse. Leake and Byrd could be two of those fits.  Will those moves be enough? Will the Giants buck recent trends and overpay for the top tier free agents? Will they stick to their blueprint and try to be more strategic about who they sign? Should be a fun winter.

San Francisco Giants Organizational Depth Chart (4/21/15 Edition)

2015 San Francisco Giants Organizational Depth Chart
Put together by @CandlestickWill & @CoveChatter

C Buster Posey (MLB)
C Hector Sanchez (MLB)
C Andrew Susac (MLB)
C Guillermo Quiroz (Triple-A)
C Trevor Brown  (Triple-A)
C Jeff Arnold (Double-A)
C Jackson Williams (Double-A)
C Eliezer Zambrano (Double-A)
C Ben Turner (Single-A)
C Matt Pare (Single-A)
C Ty Ross (Single-A)
C Geno Escalante (Single-A)
C Brad Moss (Low-A)
C Aramis Garcia (Low-A)
C Jared Deacon (Low-A)
C John Riley (Low-A)

1B Brandon Belt (MLB)
1B Travis Ishikawa (MLB)
1B John Bowker (Triple-A)
1B Ricky Oropesa (Double-A)
1B Angel Villalona (Double-A)
1B Brian Ragira (Single-A)
1B Skyler Ewing (Low-A)

2B Joe Panik (MLB)
2B Matt Duffy (MLB)
2B Ehire Adrianza (Triple-A)
2B Brandon Hicks (Triple-A)
2B Ronny Cedeno (Triple-A)
2B Blake Miller (Double-A)
2B Kelby Tomlinson (Double-A)
2B Austin Slater (Single-A)
2B John Polonius (Single-A)
2B Jeremy Sy (Low-A)

SS Brandon Crawford (MLB)
SS Carlos Triunfel (Triple-A)
SS Juan Ciriaco (Triple-A)
SS Randy Moreno (Double-A)
SS Christian Arroyo (Single-A) 
SS Ydwin Villegas (Single-A)
SS Travious Relaford (Low-A)

3B Casey McGehee (MLB)
3B Joaquin Arias (MLB)
3B Adam Duvall (40 Man/Triple-A)
3B Mitch Delfino (Double-A)
3B Ryder Jones (Single-A)
3B Brandon Bednar (Single-A)
3B Jonah Arenado (Low-A)
3B Will Callaway (Low-A)

LF Nori Aoki (MLB)
LF Gregor Blanco (MLB)
LF Juan Perez (Triple-A)
LF Darren Ford (Triple-A)
LF Elliott Blair (Double-A)
LF Devin Harris (Double-A)
LF Ryan Lollis (Single-A)
LF Rafael Rodriguez (Single-A)
LF Brennan Metzger (Single-A)
LF Shawn Payne (Single-A)
LF Cristian Paulino (Low-A)

CF Angel Pagan (MLB)
CF Brett Jackson (Triple-A)
CF Daniel Carbonell (40 Man/Double-A)
CF Jesus Galindo (Single-A)
CF Randy Ortiz (Low-A)
CF Johneshwy Fargas (Low-A)

RF Hunter Pence (MLB)
RF Justin Maxwell (MLB)
RF Jarrett Parker (40 Man/Triple-A)
RF Javier Herrera (Double-A)
RF Mac Williamson (Double-A)

RF Tyler Horan (Single-A)
RF Chuckie Jones (Single-A) *Suspended
RF Hunter Cole (Low-A) 
RF Andrew Cain (Low-A)
RF Gustavo Cabrera (INJ)

SP Madison Bumgarner (MLB)
SP Matt Cain (MLB)
SP Jake Peavy (MLB)
SP Tim Hudson (MLB)
SP Tim Lincecum (MLB)
SP Chris Heston (MLB)
SP Ryan Vogelsong (MLB)
SP Yusmeiro Petit (MLB)
SP Ty Blach (Triple-A) 
SP Jake Dunning (Triple-A)
SP Austin Fleet (Triple-A)
SP Robert Coello (Triple-A)
SP Braulio Lara (Triple-A)
SP Nik Turley (Triple-A)
SP Kevin Correia (Triple-A)
SP Kyle Crick (Double-A)
SP Clayton Blackburn (Double-A)
SP Chris Stratton (Double-A)
SP Adalberto Mejia (Double-A) * Restricted List
SP Matt Lujan (Double-A)
SP Joe Biagini (Double-A)
SP Jack Snodgrass (Double-A)
SP Tyler Beede (Single-A)
SP Keury Mella (Single-A)
SP Luis Ysla (Single-A)
SP Nick Vander Tuig (Single-A)
SP Martin Agosta (Single-A)SP D.J. Snelten (Single-A)
SP Chase Johnson (Single-A)
SP Matt Gage (Low-A)
SP Mark Reyes (Low-A)
SP Samuel Coonrod (Low-A)
SP Nathanial Santiago (Low-A)
SP Jose Reyes (Low-A)
SP Nicholas Gonzalez (Low-A)
SP Michael Santos (Low-A)

RP Santiago Casilla (MLB)
RP Sergio Romo (MLB)
RP Jeremy Affeldt (MLB)
RP Javy Lopez (MLB)
RP Jean Machi (MLB)
RP George Kontos (MLB)
RP Hunter Strickland (40 Man/Triple-A)
RP Erik Cordier (40 Man)
RP Cody Hall (40 Man/Triple-A) 
RP Steven Okert (Triple-A)
RP Brett Bochy (Triple-A)
RP Juan Gutierrez (Triple-A)
RP Curtis Partch (Triple-A)
RP Mike Broadway (Triple-A)
RP Clay Rapada (Triple-A)
RP Derek Law (40 Man)
RP Ray Black (40 Man)
RP Joan Gregorio (40 Man/Double-A)
RP Josh Osich (Double-A)
RP Kelvin Marte (Double-A)
RP Jose Casilla (Double-A)
RP Pedro Rodriguez (Double-A)
RP Stephen Johnson (Double-A)
RP Phil McCormick (Double-A)
RP Tyler Rogers (Double-A)
RP Christian Jones (Single-A)
RP Ian Gardeck (Single-A)
RP Jeff Soptic (Single-A)
RP Mason McVay (Single-A)
RP Daniel Slania (Single-A)
RP Connor Kaden (Low-A)
RP Raymundo Montero (Low-A)
RP E.J. Encinosa (Low-A)
RP Carlos Diaz (Low-A)
RP Rodolfo Martinez (Low-A)
RP Reyes Moronta (Low-A)
RP Ramon Del Orbe (Low-A)

The 2015 San Francisco Giants have reported!

Today really should be a holiday. The day that all of baseball is reporting to work. Not just pitchers and catchers, but second baseman and right fielders too. On this glorious day, let's take a look at the defending champs, the San Francisco Giants, and their chances at a return trip to October baseball in 2015.

The Lineup:
CF Angel Pagan
2B Joe Panik
1B Brandon Belt
C Buster Posey
RF Hunter Pence
3B Casey McGehee
LF Nori Aoki
SS Brandon Crawford

If everyone stays healthy, this could very well be the 2015 Opening Day lineup April 6 in Arizona, and it would almost certainly be the lineup at the Oakland A's new training complex March 3 for the Spring Training opener.

The top three in the order will all come into 2015 with one specific question mark that will get asked over and over again.

1. Can Angel Pagan stay healthy?
2. What can Joe Panik do in his 1st full season?
3. Can Brandon Belt hit 25-30 home runs?

There are other questions for those three, like any baseball player, but the conversations over the next month will start and end there.  Ultimately, if Pagan can stay healthy, Panik can be productive all season, and Belt can hit for power, this is a team that can play October baseball. 

The 4-5 hitters don't come into 2015 with question marks. Buster Posey and Hunter Pence have been the most consistent performers in the Giants lineup since their arrival in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Their abilities as two way players and their leadership on and off the field make them nearly immune to scrutiny during batting slumps.

Fans will continue to push for Posey to play first base more to take pressure off his legs during the season. However, those same fans want more production from Brandon Belt. Hard for both to happen since only one can play first at a time.

Hunter Pence has become such a cult hero in San Francisco from his speeches, to his effort, to his signs across baseball that he really doesn't get criticized much at all in the Bay Area. For a game that sees players only have success 3 out of 10 times, that is pretty remarkable.

The bottom three in the order also come into the 2015 seasons with specific questions on their performance.

6. Can Casey McGehee earn the 3B job and keep it throughout the season?
7. Can Nori Aoki earn the LF job and keep it throughout the season?
8. Can Brandon Crawford improve his defense and become the elite shortstop we all know he can be?

McGehee (pronounced Mah-Gee) and Aoki come in with the same question because they are both new to the team. This is the generic question for anybody brought in to start for any team.  Aoki isn't as crucial because Gregor Blanco has proven he can start in spurts as well. McGehee doesn't have any real competition at this point at third base in the organization, so there is more pressure for him to succeed. 

Crawford has improved as a hitter each season he has been in the big leagues, so whether he struggles at the plate or improves again isn't as important as his defense. His defense is what got him to the big leagues in the first place, and the amount of errors he has committed over his career is much more than any elite shortstop should be committing. If he is able to cut down on the mistakes in the field, he will not only become a contender for a Gold Glove, but more importantly, the leader of a defense that has been a critical element to October success. To Crawford's credit, he has always performed better at shortstop in October than any other month in his career.


The Rotation
Madison Bumgarner
Matt Cain
Jake Peavy
Tim Hudson
Tim Lincecum

Ryan Vogelsong
Yusmerio Petit

Madison Bumgarner will be fine. Throwing 270 innings last season has been talked about all off-season, but Bumgarner is 25, stronger than most his age, and clearly is Paul Bunyan. If you don't believe me, here's proof:

ICYMI: #MadBum was looking like a BOSS in the parking lot yesterday. http://t.co/zEjyg60vDl #BusterPosey #FaceOfMLB
— #BusterPosey (@SFGiants) February 24, 2015

The rest of the rotation is loaded with question marks. It starts with the most consistent pitcher the Giants have had in their organization since Juan Marichal, Matt Cain.  Cain hasn't been himself since the 2013 All-Star break, and it's because of bone chips he's had in his elbow for the last 10 years. For eight of those years, Cain pitched with them without much problem at all, becoming one of the greatest pitchers in the organization's history.  Now that he has had surgery to remove the bone chips, Cain has come into 2015 with a renewed sense of health.  Cain was quoted as saying he felt "18 again" and was looking forward to a "new beginning" in 2015. This doesn't stop fans from being pessimistic, but it certainly allows be to be optimistic.

Peavy, like Panik, has never played a full season for the Giants, but unlike Panik, he is 33 and has pitched 12 seasons in the major leagues. There is some hope that he can repeat the regular season success he had in San Francisco last year. There is also some concern that he might repeat the post season performances he had in October that weren't as good. There is also the obvious worry that his struggles with Boston were severe enough for the Red Sox to trade him to San Francisco in the first place last year and that those performances could return. His presence in the locker room and his attitude on the mound are both big pluses for most Giants fans, and that will minimize some of the concern as well

Hudson had an All-Star appearance in 2014 for his tremendous performance in the first half of the season. He also was pulled in the 2nd inning of Game 7 of the World Series because his 2nd half was not nearly as productive. The tale of two seasons is the story line for Hudson in 2015. Will we see more of his 2014 1st half or 2014 second half?

Lincecum will get the first shot at the fifth starter spot, and if the reports are accurate, Lincecum enters 2015 with a "chip on his shoulder" and something to prove. He went back to his father, Chris Lincecum to work on his mechanics and feels he has found something that has been missing the last three seasons. If that is true, Lincecum could end up being one of the main pieces of the rotation instead of it's fifth starter. If Lincecum doesn't show improvement, the team has two capable starters on the roster already in Vogelsong and Petit.

The Bullpen

Bullpens always have turnover, but what has kept the Giants successful over the last five seasons is the consistency they have had at the back end of the bullpen. Despite many changes in their roles, the "core four" of Jeremy Affeldt, Javy Lopez, Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla have made the Giants bullpen one of the strongest in baseball.

Casilla will enter 2015 as the closer, and that should allow Romo and Lopez to continue to thrive in their previous roles as matchup guys in the late innings. Affeldt, like Casilla, has shown the ability to pitch late as well as pitch multiple innings, and that versatility to what makes the bullpen so effective.

2015 Expectations
Despite all the question marks, there are two things that make the 2015 season look promising.

First is the financial flexibility the team will have in 2016 that could allow the organization to make moves at the trade deadline if anyone gets hurt or struggles through July or August. 

Second, the combination of Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, Posey, Bumgarner and Pence are hard to match with any team in the game. Other teams may even have a better top three players on their team, but no team has the combination of an elite, general manager, elite manager and three elite players at key positions.

Even though it's an odd year, the Giants have set themselves up to compete again for some October baseball.

San Francisco Giants Organizational Depth Chart (1/29/15 Edition)

2015 San Francisco Giants Organizational Depth Chart
Put together by @CandlestickWill & @CoveChatter

C Buster Posey (MLB)
C Andrew Susac (MLB)
C Hector Sanchez (40 Man)
C Guillermo Quiroz (Triple-A)
C Jeff Arnold (Triple-A)
C Trevor Brown  (Triple-A)
C Brad Moss (Triple-A)
C Eliezer Zambrano (Double-A)
C Myles Schroder (Double-A)
C Ben Turner (Single-A)
C Aramis Garcia (Low-A)
C Jared Deacon (Single-A)
C Geno Escalante (Single-A)
C Matt Pare (Single-A)
C John Riley (Low-A)

1B Brandon Belt (MLB)
1B Travis Ishikawa (MLB)
1B Angel Villalona (Triple-A)
1B Brian Ragira (Double-A)
1B Ricky Oropesa (Double-A)
1B Skylar Ewing (Single-A)

2B Joe Panik (MLB)
2B Matt Duffy (MLB)
2B Brandon Hicks (Triple-A)
2B Blake Miller (Double-A)
2B Kelby Tomlinson (Double-A)
2B Alberto Robles (Single-A)
2B Travious Relaford (Low-A)
2B Trevor Brown (Low-A)

SS Brandon Crawford (MLB)
SS Ehire Adrianza (40 Man)
SS Carlos Triunfel (Triple-A)
SS Ydwin Villegas (Single-A)
SS Christian Arroyo (Single-A)
SS Kelvin Beltre (Low-A)
SS Rando Moreno (Low-A)
SS Jameson Henning (Low-A)

3B Casey McGehee (MLB)
3B Joaquin Arias (MLB)
3B Adam Duvall (40 Man)
3B Chris Dominguez (DFA)
3B Adalberto Santos (Triple-A)
3B Mitch Delfino (Double-A)
3B Brandon Bednar (Single-A)
3B Sam Mende (Single-A)
3B Ryder Jones (Single-A)
3B Jonah Arenado (Low-A)
3B Nathaneal Javier (Low-A)

LF Nori Aoki (MLB)
LF Gregor Blanco (MLB)
LF Juan Perez (MLB)
LF John Bowker (Triple-A)
LF Juan Ciriaco (Triple-A)
LF Darren Ford (Triple-A)
LF Elliott Blair (Double-A)
LF Devin Harris (Double-A)
LF Tyler Horan (Double-A)
LF Ryan Lollis (Single-A)
LF Shawn Payne (Single-A)

CF  Angel Pagan (MLB)
CF Gary Brown (40 Man)
CF Brett Jackson (Triple-A)
CF Justin Maxwell (Triple-A)
CF Daniel Carbonell (40 Man)

RF Hunter Pence (MLB)
RF Jarrett Parker (40 Man)
RF Javier Herrera (Triple-A)
RF Mac Williamson (Single-A)
RF Austin Slater (Low-A)
RF Mikey Edie (Low-A)
RF Gustavo Cabrera (INJ)

SP Madison Bumgarner (MLB)
SP Matt Cain (MLB)
SP Jake Peavy (MLB)
SP Tim Hudson (MLB)
SP Tim Lincecum (MLB)
SP Ryan Vogelsong (MLB)
SP Yusmeiro Petit (MLB)
SP Chris Heston (40 Man)
SP Joan Gregorio (40 Man)
SP Ty Blach (Triple-A)
SP Kyle Crick (Double-A)
SP Clayton Blackburn (Double-A)
SP Chris Stratton (Double-A)
SP Adalberto Mejia (Double-A) * Restricted List
SP Tyler Beede (Single-A)
SP Keury Mella (Single-A)
SP Luis Ysla (Single-A)

RP Santiago Casilla (MLB)
RP Sergio Romo (MLB)
RP Jeremy Affeldt (MLB)
RP Javy Lopez (MLB)
RP Hunter Strickland (MLB)
RP Jean Machi (MLB)
RP George Kontos (40 Man)
RP Erik Cordier (40 Man)
RP Derek Law (40 Man)
RP Cody Hall (40 Man)
RP Ray Black (40 Man)
RP Steven Okert (Triple-A)
RP Brett Bochy (Triple-A)