The starting rotation was supposed to be a strength for the Giants in 2013, but it just hasn’t worked out that way so far this year.  23-year old lefty Madison Bumgarner is the only member of the Giants’ rotation that is pitching well so far in 2013.  He has pitched in 14 games (all starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 6-4 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.  28-year old righty Matt Cain just kept getting better every year until 2013.  He has pitched in 14 games (all starts) so far this year and he is 5-3 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Cain has had issues with the long ball.  29-year old righty Tim Lincecum just doesn’t look like he has it anymore.  Don’t get me wrong, he still has good stuff…..but he’s just not getting good results at all.  Lincecum has pitched in 14 games (all starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 4-7 with a 4.57 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.  35-year old lefty Barry Zito had a breakthrough year for the Giants in 2012, but he’s having a rough time so far this year.  Zito has pitched in 14 games (all starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 4-5 with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.  35-year old righty Ryan Vogelsong proved to be quite a late bloomer for the Giants until 2013.  He has pitched in 9 games (all starts) so far this year for the Giants and he is 2-4 with a 7.19 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.  Vogelsong is currently on the D.L. for the Giants.  The Giants need these five guys to right the ship soon, because they are not scoring a lot of runs in 2013.

The San Francisco Giants have designated 31-year old righty reliever Ramon Ramirez for assignment.  Ramirez pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Giants this year and he was 0-0 with a 11.12 ERA and a 2.47 WHIP.  Ramirez has pitched in 97 games (0 starts) in his three years with the Giants and he is 4-3 with 5 saves, a 2.58 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  I highly doubt that Ramirez will accept an outright assignment to AAA from the Giants.

UPDATE:  (6/18/2013) - The Giants have released Ramon Ramirez.

26-year old lefty swinging SS Brandon Crawford’s bat has come alive in 2013.  He has played in 63 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 64 of 223 (.287 avg, .776 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 5 homers, 26 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Crawford has now played in 272 games in his first three years with the Giants and he is 212 of 854 (.248 avg, .669 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 12 homers, 92 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  The Giants hope that Crawford keeps raking at the plate as they need all of the help that they can get offensively.

The Giants have lost 33-year old righty starter/reliever Shane Loux for the rest of the 2013 season, as he needs Tommy John Surgery.  Loux pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Giants in AAA-ball this year and he was 5-2 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.  He pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the Giants last year and he was 1-0 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.  This is not that big of a loss for the Giants moving forward.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Fitzgerald is opening some eyes in the minors for the Giants in 2013.  He has pitched in 7 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  He has given up 39 hits and 10 walks while whiffing 45 batters in his first 38 innings this year, which is impressive.  Fitzgerald has now pitched in 144 games (87 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 32-25 with 5 saves, a 3.30 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.  If Fitzgerald keeps up the good work, he could get his first shot at the show at some point in 2013.

The San Francisco Giants have placed 31-year old switch-hitting CF Angel Pagan on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 28th, due to a strained right hamstring.  Pagan has played in 46 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 49 for 187 (.262 avg, .688 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers, 24 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  He has now played in 200 games in his first two years with the Giants and he is 223 of 792 (.282 avg, .756 OPS) with 125 runs scored, 11 homers, 80 RBIs and 35 stolen bases.  This really is going to hurt the Giants as Pagan is one of the better all around players that they have.

34-year old Jeremy Affeldt, 35-year old Javier Lopez and 28-year old Jose Mijares give the Giants three quality lefty relievers out of the pen.  This allows Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy to play the matchups like no other manager can.  Affeldt has pitched in 22 games (0 starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  He has the best arm of this bunch.  Lopez is a side-armer who is almost impossible for lefty hitters to have success against.  He has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  Mijares has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.83 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.  No team can match the quality or depth that the Giants have from the left side of the pen.

The Giants will be without 26-year old switch-hitting 3B Pablo Sandoval for the next 5-7 days due to a left foot strain.  Sandoval has played in 53 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 61 of 212 (.288 avg, .761 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 8 homers and 37 RBIs.  28-year old righty swinging Joaquin Arias and 24-year old lefty swinging rookie Nick Noonan will split P.T. at 3B until the Kung Fu Panda is ready to return to action.  Arias has played in 37 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 9 for 41 (.220 avg, .486 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Noonan has played in 32 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 11 for 51 (.216 avg, .508 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs.  The Giants are going to miss Sandoval’s bat.

UPDATE:  (6/12/2013) - The Giants have placed Pablo Sandoval on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left foot.

37-year old righty swinging 2B Marco Scutaro has been ripping the ball in 2013 for the Giants.  He has played in 43 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 58 of 175 (.331 avg, .816 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs.  Scutaro is really locked in as he has walked 15 times while only whiffing 12 times so far this year.  He has now played in 104 games in his first two years with the Giants and he is 146 of 418 (.349 avg, .841 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 4 homers, 55 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Scutaro is playing by far the best baseball of his major league career since joining the Giants.

The Giants have placed 32-year old righty reliever Santiago Casilla on the 15-day disabled list due to a cyst on his right knee.  Casilla has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 3-2 with 1 save, a 1.89 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 195 games (0 starts) in his first four years with the Giants and he is 19-12 with 34 saves, a 2.19 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.  This is a big blow to the Giants’ pen as Casilla is one of the best relievers on the team.

UPDATE:  (5/27/2013) - Santiago Casilla will have surgery later this week to remove the cyst from his right knee.  He is going to miss some time because of it.