The San Francisco Giants are going to be a very poor baseball team. Any team with Randy Winn batting third with Bengie Molina cleanup is going to have issues scoring runs. That is quite a shame as the Giants will be wasting quite a lot of good starting pitching this season. Take the under.

34-year old switch hitting Randy Winn will likely bat third for the Giants in 2008 and that shows how bad the offense is expected to be. He played in 155 games for the Giants last season and he was 178 for 593 (.300 avg, .798 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 14 homers, 65 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Winn made 2 errors in RF last season in 104 games and he showed above average range.

24-year old lefty swinging Nate Schierholtz will likely get some P.T. in RF this season. He played in 39 games for the Giants last season and he was 34 for 112 (.304 avg, .718 OPS) with 9 runs scored and 10 RBIs. He played in 30 games in RF making 1 error while showing below average range.

Fred Lewis could also get some playing time in RF this season for the Giants. He played in 27 error-free games there and he didn’t make any errors while showing above average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C+

30-year old righty swinging Aaron Rowand was the player the Giants spent money on to bring to the Bay in the off season. He played in 161 games for the Phillies last season and he was 189 for 612 (.309 avg, .889 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 27 homers, 89 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Rowand played in 161 games in CF for the Phillies last season and he made 2 errors while showing slightly below average range. Rowand also showed off a strong arm as he had 11 assists last season. Don’t expect Rowand to repeat the numbers he put up last season as he won’t have much protection in the batting order.

27-year old righty swinging Rajai Davis will be Rowand’s backup in CF. He played in 75 games for the Giants & Pirates last season and he was 53 for 190 (.279 avg, .735 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He played in 58 games in CF last season and he did not make an error while showing above average range. Look for Davis to also play some left field this season for the Giants.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

36-year old lefty swinging Dave Roberts will likely be the leadoff hitter and starting left fielder for the Giants this season. He played in 114 games for the Giants last season and he was 103 for 396 (.260 avg, .695 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 2 homers, 23 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He played in 20 error-free games in LF last season and he showed outstanding range there. He also played in 92 games in CF and he made 3 errors there while showing above average range. The Giants need Roberts to stay healthy all season long.

27-year old Fred Lewis will also likely get some P.T. in LF for the Giants this season. He played in 58 games for the Giants last season and the lefty swinger was 45 for 157 (.287 avg, .782 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He played in 24 games in LF last season for the Giants and he only made 1 error while showing above average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-

36-year old righty swinging Rich Aurilia will likely be the Giants’ starting 3B by default in 2008. He played in 99 games for the Giants last season and he was 83 for 329 (.252 avg, .672 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 5 homers and 33 RBIs. Aurilia played in 22 games at 3B last season and he made 4 errors while showing good range. Aurilia looks to give it the old college try this season but he’s starting to look his age in the field.

31-year old righty swinging Justin Leone is the darkhorse in the 3B race. He played in 128 games in AAA for the Giants last season and he was 115 for 428 (.269 avg, .880 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 20 homers, 60 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see how Leone is treated by the Giants this season.

Kevin Frandsen will open this season as the starting SS but he might slide to 3B when Omar Vizquel returns. Frandsen played 9 error-free games at 3B last season while showing poor defense.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D

41-year old switch hitting Omar Vizquel will miss some time at the start of the season but he will start when he gets healthy. He played in 145 games last season for the Giants and he was 126 for 513 (.246 avg, .621 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 4 homers, 51 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. The Giants hope that Vizquel can hit his career averages with the bat of .274 with a .697 OPS in 2,588 games. Vizquel played in 143 games at shortstop last season for the Giants and he only made 9 errors while showing outstanding range.

26-year old righty swinging Kevin Frandsen will likely start at SS until Omar Vizquel gets back. When Vizquel gets back, Frandsen will likely battle Rich Aurilia at 3B and Ray Durham at 2B for playing time. Frandsen played in 109 games for the Giants last season and he was 71 for 264 (.269 avg, .710 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 5 homers and 31 RBIs. He played 22 games at SS last season for the Giants and he made only 1 error while showing slightly below average range.

Rich Aurilia will be third in line for playing time at SS for the Giants this season. He played in 12 games at SS last season and he made 2 errors while showing good range. Aurilia will probably be the starting 3B when the season starts so he likely won’t play much SS this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-

36-year old switch hitting Ray Durham had the worst year of his major league career last season. He played in 138 games for the Giants last season and he was 101 for 464 (.218 avg, .638 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 11 homers, 71 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Giants need Ray Durham to hit his career norms (.277 avg, .787 OPS) to help the offense make up for the loss of Barry Bonds. Durham also needs to play better in the field as he made 12 errors in 124 games while flashing below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The Giants have seen enough of Scott Williamson this spring so they decided to cut him loose. He pitched in 2 games for the Giants and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA. He pitched 2 innings and he allowed 3 hits, 3 earned runs, walked 3 batters and whiffed 1. Other younger pitchers have looked to good this spring to justify giving Williamson a roster spot.

The Giants will be without 27-year old lefty Noah Lowry at the start of the 2008 season as he recovers from surgery on his left wrist. He pitched in 26 games (all starts) last season for the Giants and he was 14-8 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has now pitched in 106 games (100 starts) in his major league career and he is 40-31 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. The frontrunner to take over for Lowry at the start of the season is 25-year old lefty Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez has electric stuff but he hasn’t had much success yet in the major leagues. He pitched in 33 games (4 starts) last season for the Giants and he was 1-5 with a 5.88 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. He has now pitched in 60 games (8 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-6 with a 5.48 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.

The Giants rebuilding effort will probably mean a young player will start at 1B. The odds on favorite is 27-year old switch hitter Dan Ortmeier. Ortmeier is a converted outfielder so he could have some problems defensively but he should be able to be an asset with the bat in his hands. Ortmeier played in 62 games for the Giants last season and he was 45 for 157 (.287 avg, .814 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 6 homers and 16 RBIs. Ortmeier also played in 79 games in AAA ball last season and he was 80 for 305 (.262 avg, .763 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 10 homers and 54 RBIs.

The darkhorse in the competition at first base will be 36-year old righty swinging Scott McClain. McClain played in 8 games last season for the Giants and he was 2 for 11 (.182 avg, .364 OPS) with 1 run scored. He had a great season in AAA for the Giants last year. He played in 132 games there and he was 125 for 468 (.267 avg, .866 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 31 homers and 100 RBIs.

24-year old Travis Ishikawa regressed last season in A+AA ball. He played in 104 games in the minors last season and he was 90 for 371 (.243 avg, .750 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 16 homers and 51 RBIs. He also whiffed 126 times which is quite a lot. Ishikawa has played in 12 games with the Giants in his career and he is 7 for 24 (.292 avg, .820 OPS) with 1 run scored and 4 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D