• Have something to say? Register Now! and be posting in minutes!

Former Giants in the Big Leagues - 2021 Edition

LHG

Former Californian. Hesitant Tennessean.
17,574
7,704
533
Joined
Aug 1, 2015
Location
Laguna Hills, CA, United States
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Since we don't have any Giant baseball for a few days, I thought I'd do my annual scouring of the other 29 clubs and see which former Giants and/or Giant farmhands played in the big leagues this season. My criteria is that they have had to been either on the 40 man roster or played on a minor league affiliate to make this list. With the FZ era, this has expanded the amount of names since he likes to pick up and then quickly jettison guys without them playing a single game. Without further ado, here is the roster of the best, with the remaining listed at the bottom of each section:

Starting Rotation
Zach Wheeler
is, once again, the #1 in this rotation. He pitched another good season with the Phillies, totaling 247 strikeouts in 213.1 innings pitched, while posting a 1.008 WHIP and 2.78 ERA.
The guy behind him, Luis Castillo, meanwhile had a bit of a down year. He was solid, with 192 strikeouts in 178 innings, but saw his WHIP (1.364) and ERA (3.98) go up in 2021.
It is weird to type this, but Madison Bumgarner lines up at the number 3 guy in this rotation. His K rate is down (124 in 146.1 innings) and his ERA is not good (4.67). His WHIP, though, is decent (1.182).
The 4th guy is a new name, fresh off a 2020 season with the Giants. Drew Smyly, however, didn't turn out as good in 2021 with the Braves. He saw increases in both WHIP (1.374) and ERA (4.48) while still posting generally solid strikeouts (117 in 126.2 innings).
Rounding out the rotation is another recent alum, Tyler Anderson. He pitched very similarly in 2021 as he did with the 2020 Giants (1.246 WHIP and 4.53 ERA), but this time got moved at the deadline, going from the Pirates to Mariners.
Others who started - Matt Moore (24 games, 13 starts); Trevor Cahill (9 games, 8 starts)

Bullpen (criteria is who pitched the most innings and posted good to decent numbers. Many who did not make it had good seasons but not enough innings to qualify)
Long Relief - Chris Stratton had a decent year with the Pirates, throwing 79.1 innings in 68 games and posting a 1.298 WHIP and 3.63 ERA. Yusimeiro Petit doesn't throw quite as many innings but still got in 78 innings in 78 games, posting generally solid WHIP (1.038) and ERA (3.92) but with a troublesome 37 Ks. Jonathan Loaisiga had a phenomenal year with the Yankees (1.019 WHIP, 2.17 ERA), even filling briefly their closer role (9 saves) while Chapman struggled.
Early relief - These two guys both had to get a bit of a career resurrection. Pierce Johnson had to go overseas to figure things out but the Padres have benefited as he game them a very solid season (77 Ks in 58.2 innings, 1.261 WHIP and 3.22 ERA). Phil Bickford, meanwhile got dumped by the Brewers before figuring things out with the hated Dodgers. He helped with a 1.072 WHIP, 2.81 ERA while striking out 60 batters in 51.1 innings.
7th inning guy - He bounced from the Rays to the Angels to the Brewers, but Hunter Strickland quietly put up a good year. His K rate wasn't great (58 in 58.2 innings) but he had good numbers both in WHIP (1.158) and ERA (2.61).
8th/9th inning guys - Will Smith and Mark Melancon both pitched as closers for their teams, with Melancon (surprise!) possibly being the better of the two. He outdid Smith in ERA (2.23 vs 3.44) but Smith did better in WHIP (1.222 vs 1.132) and Ks (59 in 64.2 innings vs 87 in 68 innings).
Others who pitched - Sergio Romo, Heath Hembree, Derek Holland, Burch Smith, Sam Coonrod, Wandy Peralta, Dan Winkler, Steven Okert, Ashton Goudeau, Anthony Banda, Tony Watson (before his reacquisition). Matt Wisler, Drew Pomeranz, Kyle Crick, Shaun Anderson, Jandel Gustave, Fernando Abad, Sam Selman, Connor Overton, Derek Law, Josh Osich, Kyle Barraclough, Luis Madero, Nick Vincent, Travis Bergen, Sam Moll, Jake Jewell (before his reacquisition), Daniel Camarena, Dusten Knight, Julian Fernandez, James Sherfy, Joe Biagini, Nick Tropeano, Mike Kickham and Keury Mella. Also, Ray Black was on the 60 day IL with the Brewers.

Catchers - The guy who spent about two weeks with the org in spring training 2019 tops this position again. Tom Murphy dealt with some injuries but managed to hit .202/.304/.350 in 97 games. His backup would be Stephen Vogt, who started with the Diamondbacks before a trade sent him to the Braves. He played in 78 games and hit a mere .195/.284/.333.
Other who played - Aramis Garcia (32 games); Rene Rivera (25 games); Rob Brantly (6 games)

Infielders
1st base
- Not very many candidates for this spot, so I stuck Charlie Culberson here. The answer to who is the only other 2007 Giant pick still in the big leagues played a little everywhere with the Rangers, including 1st base, slashing .243/.296/.381 in 90 games.
2nd base - Most of the guys on this list played primarily at 3rd base for their teams but also played elsewhere. Hanser Alberto then gets assigned to 2nd as his 2nd most played position with the Royals. Another guy who was only briefly with the Giants' org, Alberto played in 103 games, hitting .270/.291/.402.
Shortstop - I am sticking Ehire Adrianza here as the Brave has extensive experience at the position, despite playing more at 3rd, left, 2nd and right then short this year (with time at center too). In 109 games, he slashed .247/.327/.401.
3rd base - Matthew Duffy gets put here because he played the most games of any infielders and played mostly 3rd for the Cubs (but also saw time at 2nd, short, left field and 1st). He slashed .287/.357/.381 in 97 games.
Backups - Joe Panik played in at all infield spots except shortstop with the Blue Jays and Marlins, totaling a .208/.261/.284 slash in 95 games. Christian Arroyo got some action at 2nd, 1st and short with the Red Sox in (surprise!) an injury riddled 2021 season, hitting .262/.324/.445 in 164 at-bats.
Other who played - Breyvic Valera (39 games, 3b-2b); Pablo Sandoval (69 games, dh-1b-3b); Daniel Robertson (50 games, 3b-2b-ss-1b); Keon Wong (32 games, 2b-3b-lf-rf)

Outfielders
Left field
- Hey, this name is intriguing mainly because he was picked up for the guy right below. Andrew McCutchen may have slipped quickly from his prime days in Pittsburgh but he's been able to keep playing full time. He was an exclusively a left fielder for the Phillies, hitting .222/.334/.444 in 146 games.
Center field - Probably the cream of the crop would be found here in Bryan Reynolds. The 26 year old slashed .302/.390/.522 in a incredible rebound from a dreadful 2020 campaign.
Right field - Here is another outfielder that the Giants may have sold low on, but he's also bounced around quite a bit. Adam Duvall spent most of the 1st half with the Marlins before getting traded back to the Braves. It seems that both no team and many teams want him. He hit a combined .228/.277/.491 in a bit of a down year for him. While he played mostly in right field, he did see time in both center and left fields as well.
Backups - Kevin Pillar played a lot for a Mets' team that saw signficant injuries, hitting .231/.277/.415 while playing all three outfield positions in a total of 124 games. Connor Joe was a pleasant surprise for the Rockies, hitting .285/.379/.469, while playing left field and 1st base, before a late season injury cut short a good rookie campaign for him.
Other who played - Billy Hamilton (71 games, cf-lf-rf); Gerardo Parra (53 games, lf-cf-rf); Skye Bolt (32 games, cf-lf-rf); Matt Joyce (43 games, lf-rf); Johneshwy Fargas (22 games, cf-lf-rf); Henry Ramos (18 games, rf-lf); Jose Siri (21 games, rf-cf-lf); Cameron Maybin (9 games, cf-lf-rf); John Andreoli (7 games, lf-cf-rf)
 
Top