San Francisco Giants DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

San Francisco Giants top prospect Kyle Harrison debuted a new cutter during his Cactus League outing on Sunday against the Texas Rangers. The 22-year-old left-hander struck out four and hit a batter while not allowing a hit in two scoreless innings. Harrison began to develop his cutter last year but has been using it more, and it should become a bigger part of his repertoire heading into his first full season in San Francisco's starting rotation. Before adding a cutter, Harrison was a fastball, slider, and changeup pitcher. In his first seven MLB starts in 2023, he had a 4.15 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 35 K's and 11 walks in 34 2/3 innings. His fly-ball tendencies should be mitigated by his pitcher-friendly home park in San Fran, and a big jump is expected from Harrison in 2024, although a likely innings limit could cap his fantasy upside.

To make room on the active 40-man roster for newcomer Matt Chapman, the San Francisco Giants placed right-hander Tristan Beck (arm) on the 60-day injured list on Sunday. Beck could be forced to miss the entire 2024 season. The 27-year-old is set to have vascular surgery on Monday to fix an aneurysm that was discovered in his upper right arm last week. At the very least, Beck won't be an option for San Francisco's starting rotation until the second half of the season. Keaton Winn (elbow), Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (elbow) are also injured, so the Giants' rotation is going to be stretched thin early in the season. They could be forced to move Sean Hjelle into a starting role.

Free agent third baseman Matt Chapman and the San Francisco Giants agreed on a three-year, $54 million contract on Friday. Chapman's deal includes an opt-out after the first two seasons, and he will make $20 million in 2024, $18 million in 2025, and $16 million in 2026. The 30-year-old has legit power, evidenced by his 56.4% hard-hit percentage and 17.1% barrel rate, ranking in the 98th percentile per Baseball Savant. Overall, Chapman slashed .240/.330/.424 with 17 homers and 54 RBI across 581 plate appearances with the Blue Jays last season. He will join a potentially potent Giants lineup with new acquisitions Jorge Soler and Jung Hoo Lee. Chapman should be in San Francisco's lineup daily and could easily pop 20-plus homers (ATC projects 24) in the heart of the Giants' batting order. However, with the recent signing, fantasy managers shouldn't expect Chapman's NFBC ADP of 275 to jump too much, making him a solid pick at his current ADP in upcoming fantasy drafts.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Luis Matos continued his red-hot stretch at the plate on Friday. The 22-year-old blasted two solo home runs during the 11-5 victory over the Texas Rangers. Now, Matos has three dingers over his last 11 at-bats. He is showing that he's ready for the big league level. Sadly, Matos doesn't have a good shot at earning a starting outfield spot to begin the season. The Giants are expected to start Jung Hoo Lee, Mike Yastrzemski, and Michael Conforto across their outfield to begin the 2024 season. Possibly, Matos grabs a bench spot, but a young player like Matos deserves everyday playing time. For now, the best move might be for him to stick in Triple-A until an everyday spot opens up in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Giants appear to be firming as the favorites to land free-agent left-hander Blake Snell. A deal could come within the next 24-48 hours, reportedly, while the Giants are seen ahead of the New York Yankees who have an offer on the table for the two-time Cy Young winner. Snell took down the NL Cy Young Award in the 2023 season with the San Diego Padres. He worked to an MLB-best 2.25 ERA across 32 starts, posting a 14-9 record alongside a hefty 31.5% K%. Interestingly, he led all of baseball with 99 walks but was able to strand 86.7% of his base-runners, a figure well above his 78.2% career mark. While regression is likely, he would be a major boon to the Giants' beat-up rotation while his durability and strikeout figures will continue to serve fantasy managers quite well.