Locked On Giants – Daily Podcast On The San Francisco Giants

Today on the Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick breaks down the San Francisco Giants' series-winning victory against the San Diego Padres. Kevin Gausman was on the mound for the Giants, and once against he pitched like an ace. Darin Ruf homered against Blake Snell—his second decicisive home run in the series—as the Giants continued their theme of hitting home runs but not scoring a lot of runs. Tyler Rogers gave up a game-tying solo home run in the eighth inning against Giants killer Wil Myers, but a couple of sacrifice hits pushed across a run in the 10th inning for the Giants, and Wandy Peralta was able to shut the door in the bottom half. Also on today's podcast, Ben discusses Tuesday night's loss. There weren't a lot of positives for the offense and the bullpen, but Aaron Sanchez made his first start since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2019, and he gave the Giants five innings of one-run baseball. To say it was an encouraging outing for Sanchez personally and for the Giants as a team would be an understatement. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses the San Francisco Giants' nail-biting 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night. Anthony DeSclafani made his Giants debut, and held the potent Padres to one run in five innings. The bullpen held strong, with Matt Wisler, Reyes Moronta, Tyler Rogers, and Jake McGee combining to pitch four innings with just one run allowed. Things got dicey in the ninth, but McGee got Tommy Pham to fly out with the tying and winning runs on base. Mike Yastrzemski was a late scratch from the lineup due to lingering effects from a hit-by-pitch on the hand in the team's final spring game, but he hit a pinch-hit home run to dead center field that gave the Giants a late lead. Their other runs also came on solo homers by Darin Ruf and Evan Longoria. The Giants are tied with the Astros for the major league lead in home runs with nine, but the Astros have played one more game. So far, the Giants' offense has been powerful and the starting staff has held its own. There was a rocky bullpen game mixed in, but overall the Giants have played pretty well on the young season. Fernando Tatis Jr. went down in a heap after striking out, and had to be removed from the game. The Padres later announced that Tatis had a left shoulder subluxation. We at Locked On Giants are wishing Tatis the best, and a full and speedy recover. The game is much better when he's on the field. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about three things we learned this weekend with the San Francisco Giants. First and foremost, we learned that the Giants missed a big opportunity. They held a five-run lead in the eighth inning on Opening Day, and the bullpen collapsed. Johnny Cueto and Logan Webb pitched okay over the next two games, and the Giants were able to win Cueto's start, but the Giants came away with a series loss when they undoubtedly felt like they should've won two out of three. The next thing we learned was a bunch of stats. Evan Longoria and Buster Posey impressed with power, Cueto amassed 17 swings and misses for the first time since 2017, and Webb had a good expected ERA despite surface numbers that appeared similar to his first couple of seasons. Thanks to strong performances from Kevin Gausman, Jake McGee, Posey, Longoria, and others, the Giants played well in all aspects of the game over the weekend—just not at the same time. The third thing we learned is that it's extremely early and there are lots of fluky stats right now. It takes about 45 games before we can really judge a team, so three games is simply way too few to draw sweeping conclusions. The bullpen's walk rate is unsustainably high. The Giants' offense and fWAR has been above average. Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, and others are struggling with numbers that are unsustainably bad. It's a long season, and this was just one of dozens of series' the Giants will play this year. Now, onto San Diego to face one of the best teams in baseball... Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick reacts to the San Francisco Giants' crushing Opening Night loss to the Seattle Mariners. Kevin Gausman pitched like an ace and gave the team a great chance to win, but the bullpen couldn't hold a five-run eighth-inning lead. Evan Longoria, Buster Posey, and Austin Slater hit home runs for the Giants, as the offense exploded for seven runs. But relievers Matt Wisler, Jarlín García, and José Álvarez just could not find the strike zone as the Mariners came storming back in the late innings, helped in large part by numerous free passes. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Ben Kaspick gets you set for Opening Day on today's Locked On Giants podcast. The San Francisco Giants enter the 2021 season with a sense of cautious optimism, following a 2020 season in which they exceeded expectations by scoring the eight-most runs in baseball and falling just one win short of a playoff berth. Ben breaks down the recently announced 26-man roster and makes predictions about what's in store for the Giants in 2021. He follows that up by discussing the opening series in Seattle against the Mariners. The M's will feature three left-handed starters in this series, meaning the Giants will have guys like Austin Slater, Donovan Solano, Wilmer Flores, and Darin Ruf in their starting lineups, and others like Tommy La Stella, Alex Dickerson, and perhaps Brandon Belt may not be in there to start the game. Kevin Gausman will take the mound for the Giants tonight following a very strong 2020, and he's looking to lead this staff and perhaps pitch his way to a big new contract. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick is joined by special guest Jeff Snider from the Locked On Dodgers podcast. They discuss the rivalry, and the very different overall states of the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Their first topic of conversation is about the fact that the Giants have played the Dodgers tougher than anyone over their stretch of dominance in the NL West beginning in 2013. The Dodgers have been about a .500 team against the Giants over that span, while the they're more than 200 games over .500 against everybody else. Ben and Jeff also discuss the Dodgers winning the World Series in a very strange year, and how Padres fans think they're huge rivals with the Dodgers when they're not. Each discusses the impending free agencies of three major players: Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and Brandon Crawford for the Giants, and Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, and Kenley Jansen for the Dodgers. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses the latest with the San Francisco Giants, as Spring Training has finally concluded for the club. In an extremely scary moment yesterday, Mike Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch on the left hand and went down in a heap. It was likely to be Yastrzemski's last at-bat of the spring. He came out of the game and went in for x-rays, but thankfully they came back negative and he is day-to-day. The injury scare immediately reminded fans of Madison Bumgarner breaking a bone in his hand in his final spring training start in 2018. Ben also talks about the Giants' ATC projections. ATC has been found to be one of the most accurate baseball projections in recent seasons, and they're more optimistic on the Giants than most. Ben also reveals his latest hot take on this Hot Take Tuesday. Today's hot take is particularly spicy, as it involves Gabe Kapler and a certain set of odds on BetOnline.ag. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the latest with the San Francisco Giants, as Opening Day approaches. The Giants optioned LaMonte Wade Jr. on Sunday, which appeared to set their 13-man position player group. Notably, it would appear that Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt should be good to go for the opener. Their status was in doubt after dealing with injuries and illnesses for much of spring. Logan Webb earned the third spot in the Giants' rotation with his stellar spring. Webb struck out 17 and walked one through his first 11 innings in camp, with one final tuneup scheduled for today against the Oakland A's. Webb will pitch ahead of Anthony DeSclafani, which Ben thinks could be to get the best possible matchups against the Padres, whom the Giants play in their second series of the year. Heliot Ramos won the Barney Nugent Award, which is voted on by players, coaches, and staff as the Giants' best first-year player in major league spring training. Ramos was impressive all the way through camp, hitting for power and showcasing him impressive mix of tools. Ramos figures to start the season in Double-A, but could make his way to the majors this year. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick takes a stab at predicting the San Francisco Giants' 26-man Opening Day roster. First, he dives into the position player mix. As Farhan Zaidi said when he met with the media on Thursday, there isn't very much drama on the position player side if Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria are healthy enough to make the team. Up and down the roster, the Giants have quality depth, and they even have some really good options in the upper minors. One area where they're thin, however, is at shortstop. Zaidi said the team expects to add upper minors shortstop depth in the coming days. On the pitcher side, there are a lot more question marks. And unlike in years past, the questions do not stem from a lack of depth; in fact, the opposite is true. In the rotation, the club has Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, and Anthony DeSclafani as locks, with Logan Webb seemingly in line to make the Opening Day rotation after his dominant spring. Alex Wood and Aaron Sanchez should make the roster if they're healthy, but that may not be the case. In the bullpen, there are four locks, and then a number of ways things could go. They have lots of optionable relievers, and lots of qualified non-roster invitees. It's anyone's guess how it will all shake out. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick catches you up on all the latest with the San Francisco Giants. Manager Gabe Kapler finally named an opening day starter, and it was the right choice. Kevin Gausman will take the mound next Thursday night against the Mariners, one week from today. Johnny Cueto will start the second game. Ben also dives into last night's televised game against the San Diego Padres. Anthony DeSclafani was on the mound for the Giants, and he pitched beautifully. He ended up with eight strikeouts in four-plus innings, featuring three really good pitches: a firm fastball, a breaking ball, and a changeup. Could DeSclafani become a breakout performer in 2021 like Gausman did in 2020? Also in this game, Mike Yastrzemski, Donovan Solano, and Austin Slater hit home runs. Ben talks about how the Giants' offense is one of the most underrated in the game. Finally, Ben discusses the Giants' flurry of roster moves yesterday, with the optioning of Jason Vosler being the most surprising. We typically read too much into opening day rosters, however, and Giants fans should be aware that Vosler is very likely to get a real opportunity at some point this year. It could even be in the opening series if the Giants have to place Brandon Belt, who's been behind all spring as he recovered from mono, on the injured list. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the latest with the San Francisco Giants. Logan Webb continued his stellar spring, pitching another five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. On the whole this camp, Webb has pitched 11 innings and has 17 strikeouts against just one walk, and he has yet to allow a run. He's making a very strong case to open the year in the Giants' starting rotation, and his development is another testament to the team's newfound ability under Gabe Kapler and his staff to get the most out of their players. Another example of that is Mauricio Dubón, who has transformed from a wild free swinger into a much more disciplined hitter in the past year. The trend was evident in the middle of last season, and he's carried it over into spring with a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Giants' prospects have also been impressive this camp. It's exciting that the Giants can feature a pretty good major league lineup in spring games, followed up by a deep group of top prospects like Joey Bart, Heliot Ramos, Marco Luciano, Hunter Bishop, Will Wilson, Patrick Bailey, and Logan Wyatt. In fact, yesterday MLB Pipeline named the Giants' position player prospect group as the second best in all of baseball. The Giants' future is starting to look very bright. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers questions from listeners about the state of the San Francisco Giants. Among the questions asked and answered are: I know we think Farhan Zaidi is a brilliant President of Baseball Operations here on this podcast. But surely there’s a move he did that you didn’t like as much, or a move that you thought should have happened that did not (free agent signing, etc). What would you say is one criticism that you have of Farhan as of right now? Your odds for the Giants going over .500? What do you think about the strength of the Giants' schedule this year (besides having to play the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres a lot)? Are there stretches that stand out as particularly unlucky/brutal, or "must win" months? Who are we moving at the trade deadline? Could it be Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, or Aaron Sanchez? Are any of the veteran players on expiring contracts (Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, Johnny Cueto) candidates for trades to contenders near the deadline? What would you say are the Dodgers' and Padres' biggest weaknesses, and do any of the Giants' offseason acquisitions stand out as particularly good fits to match up against/exploit them? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the latest with the San Francisco Giants. On Saturday, Steven Duggar was optioned and Heliot Ramos was among four who were reassigned to minor league camp. Duggar's future with the organization has to be in doubt, as he once again won't be given a major league opportunity to start the season. This is Duggar's last year with minor league options. Ramos was never going to make the opening day roster, so it's not surprising that he was reassigned to minor league camp. Also, the bullpen competition heated up over the weekend. The Giants have plenty of choices for their 'pen, with only four players essentially guaranteed a spot. They have many solid relievers with minor league options on their 40-man roster, and they also have numerous non-roster invitees in camp who have been impressive. Zack Littell, Jimmie Sherfy, and Nick Tropeano were very impressive in a televised game on Sunday. It remains to be seen if any non-roster invitees will break camp with the club. Unfortunately, we learned over the weekend that the Giants' Rule 5 pick Dedniel Nuñez will have Tommy John surgery. We also learned this weekend that manager Gabe Kapler is close to naming an opening day starter. Ben passionately asserts that the assignment should go to Kevin Gausman, who is clearly the team's best pitcher. Some have speculated that it could be Johnny Cueto, but that simply wouldn't make sense. Cueto had the worst ERA of any qualified starter in 2020, and his best days are clearly behind him. Expect an announcement from Kapler this week. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers questions from listeners about the state of the San Francisco Giants. In a special bonus, he shares an audio clip from his Q&A session from Thursday on the Locker Room app. Among the questions asked and answered on today's show are: How concerned are you about the Giants' defense? What is the identity and direction of this team? Are they a possible underdog for the last NL Wild Card spot? Looking ahead to next offseason, is the expected number of "holes to fill" a legit concern? What is your personal power ranking of next year's shortstop free agent class (assuming market value)? Does Jason Vosler make the Opening Day roster? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Join our Bracket Challenge https://fantasy.espn.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2021/en/group?groupID=3624947 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick is joined by special guest Millard Thomas in Part Two of their conversation about the state of the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks. On today's show, Millard asks Ben questions about the Giants. He asks Ben to grade the Giants' offseason, tell the backstory of Giants breakout star Mike Yastrzemski, and dive into Kevin Gausman's dominant 2020 season. The two also discuss how both the Giants and the D-backs could be better than people expect, and that these two teams look like they're in a battle for third place in a loaded National League West, which also features the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKED15 for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Join our Bracket Challenge https://fantasy.espn.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2021/en/group?groupID=3624947 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices