Way too early 25 Man Roster Predictions for 2015

Since fans are always trying to piece together the 25 man roster, it makes sense to do some analysis of my own and make some predictions about the last few spots that will be open for competition.

The Starting Lineup:

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

• I'm predicting that Aoki takes over the leadoff spot and Pagan moves into an RBI role as the #6 hitter.
• I'm also predicting Brandon Belt breaks up Posey and Pence to have a R-L-R middle of the order and so Belt is in a prime spot for extra base hits.
• Pagan batting 6th slides a switch hitter in between Pence and McGehee as well. 
• When Blanco plays for Pagan, I have a feeling McGehee would move to the 6 hole.

The Other Starters:

SP Matt Cain
SP Jake Peavy
SP Tim Hudson
SP Tim Lincecum

• I don't expect Ryan Vogelsong or Yusmeiro Petit to make the rotation out of camp, assuming everyone is healthy out of camp of course.

The Bench

C Andrew Susac
1B Travis Ishikawa
IF Joaquin Arias
IF Matt Duffy
OF Gregor Blanco

• I do see Susac beating out Hector Sanchez for a roster spot. It would be interesting if Sanchez proves to be healthy if the team would consider keeping both catchers so that Posey isn't the only backup when he plays 1st or gets a day off.  Both Susac and Sanchez have the bats to warrant a pinch hit role as well as a backup catcher slot.
• I think Matt Duffy will prove to be more valuable to the roster heading into 2015 to warrant keeping him Ishikawa and Arias over Juan Perez. 
• If Juan Perez is out of options, Matt Duffy becomes the odd man out

The Bullpen

RP Ryan Vogelsong
RP Yusmeiro Petit
RP Travis Blackley
RP Jeremy Affeldt
SM Javy Lopez
SM Sergio Romo
CL Santiago Casilla

• I think there is only 1 opening now in the bullpen with the re-signing of Ryan Vogelsong
• Hunter Strickland, Jean Machi, George Kontos, Travis Blackley, Juan Gutierrez, Derrick Law, Chris Heston, Steven Okert and others will all be fighting for the single spot.
• I'm choosing Blackley to simply relay to the fanbase that we are bringing him to camp and I'm not sure everyone knows that. I do hope he earns that spot though. Another Vogey story!

Circa 2007 a tattoo less me. I'm happy to announce that I am back again. I love the Bay Area and the teams that play there. Can't wait for this new opportunity and to see some familiar faces again this season. Thanks to the @SFGiants for believing in me enough to bring me back. I'm very grateful and excited to make it worth your while. #sanfrancisco #giants #guesswhosback #backagain #thirdtimesacharm #baseball #mlb #milb

A photo posted by travisblackley (@thejerseycollectordtd) on Jan 12, 2015 at 1:26pm PST

The 6 man rotation. A fan's suggestion

Henry Shulman of the San Francisco Chronicle has stated in the past and reiterated today that both Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti are against the idea of a 6 man rotation. With the team interested in bringing back Ryan Vogelsong after all, that would give the team possibly 7 capable starters.

 

Good question. Bochy, Rags not fans. RT @chriskieffer: @sfchronicle Any chance #sfgiants use 6-man rotation, mitigate wear on Bum, Cain?
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) January 22, 2015

•  One obvious drawback to the 6 man rotation is that Madison Bumgarner would get significantly less starts. 
• Also, It takes away the advantage of having starting pitching depth by using all of the depth we have. 
• If there were to be an injury, the Giants would be forced to change the rotation significantly. 
• Throwing pitchers off their regimen mid season in any way can impact a pitcher's performance dramatically. 

All that being said, I think there are some interesting circumstances in play with this particular staff and the possibilities and benefits that could come from a 6 man rotation.

1st - Bumgarner is the only pitcher in the rotation that is coming into the 2015 season where performance was not an issue at some point last season. An extra days rest for any of the other members of the staff could be beneficial.

2nd - Because of Bumgarner's 270 inning 2014 season, He may need extra rest at some point next season. Having a 6 man rotation in place could help with that.

3rd. I would suggest keeping Bumgarner on a 5 day regimen like normal, but still go with a 6 man rotation.

Game 1 - Bumgarner
Game 2 - Matt Cain
Game 3 - Jake Peavy
Game 4 - Tim Hudson
Game 5 - Ryan Vogelsong
Game 6 - Bumgarner
Game 7 - Tim Lincecum
Game 8 - Cain
Game 9 - Peavy
Game 10 - Hudson
Game 11 - Bumgarner
Game 12 - Vogelsong
Game 13 - Lincecum
Game 14 - Cain
Game 15 - Peavy
Game 16 - Bumgarner
Game 17 - Hudson
Game 18 - Vogelsong
Game 19 - Lincecum
Game 20 - Cain
Game 21 - Bumgarner

This would give Cain, Peavy, Hudson, Vogelsong and Lincecum 6 days between starts instead of 5, which will keep them all better rested throughout the season. All 5 of these pitchers have thrown so many innings in their careers, that spreading out their starts could have some great benefits.

4th - This also could give Bochy more options in a late inning game with a bullpen slot given to another starter since Yusmeiro Petit will make the squad as well.

5th - Speaking of Petit. If this 6 man rotation idea ends up happening and working, an injury to any of our starters would end up meaning Petit would just slide into the rotation. He was so good at doing that last season, and he should be even better this year, going into camp with a guaranteed contract and roster spot.

6th - I don't have a 6th reason, but if I am going to try and convince you that there should be a 6 man rotation, I shouldn't only have 5 reasons. How about a fantastic picture of Tim Lincecum? Or maybe a better one of Tim Hudson finally winning a World Series trophy after 16 seasons.