With the 2023 season underway, what can we expect from this year’s San Francisco Giants?

Success can’t necessarily be guaranteed, but there’s definitely an upside to this year’s lineup.

Besides the Giants three championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and their improbable 107-win season two years ago, Giants fans haven’t had much to look forward to.

From years of utter mediocrity in 2017 to 2019, barely missing the playoffs with a loss in the last game of the 2020 season, and this year’s offseason fiasco, which saw “Arson Judge” as a Giant for roughly 12 minutes and star shortstop Carlos Correa sign for about a week only to eventually return to the Minnesota Twins, saying it’s been a rough few years is a big understatement.

Of course, a title run, or let alone a playoff spot, can’t be guaranteed, but a step in the right direction for the future can certainly be in the cards for the Giants this season.

Despite the disappointment we endured in the offseason, we still were able to snag proven players in Micheal Conforto and Bay Area native Mitch Haniger.

Both Conforto and Haniger endured season-ending injuries that ended their season early last year, but both of them have homered north of 30 times at least once in recent years.

They’ll look to get back to their ways while adding some much-needed offensive firepower to this Giants lineup.

Other new faces have also shown flashes of potential late last season and this spring training, specifically former rule five draft pick Blake Sabol.

He’s batted for an average of .333 with three home runs over 15 spring training games and will look to give Joey Bart some competition at the catcher position this year.

Add in intriguing left-handed pitching prospect Kyle Harrison, sophomore hopeful third baseman David Villar, and returning utility men in J.D. Davis and Wilmer Flores, and this team has more potential than it may seem on paper.

Speaking of returning players, popular names such as Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, and LaMonte Wade Jr. will run it back with the Giants this year, looking to improve on the numbers they posted last season.

The pitching rotation and bullpen will also look to improve, with familiar faces such as Logan Webb and Alex Cobb leading the way. New additions such as Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea will look to bolster this season’s rotation.
Stripling has a career ERA of 3.78, compared to Manaea’s 4.06 career ERA.

When put together, the Giants may seem like a mess, but it’s a mess that can turn out to be beautiful. We witnessed what happened in 2021, so anything really can be possible.