The Giants made a big investment in 27-year old righty starting pitcher Matt Cain over the winter and he is off to a good start. He has started in 4 games for the Giants this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP. Cain has only given up 14 hits and 5 walks in 30 1/3 innings while whiffing 26 batters, so he is on his game. Cain has now pitched in 208 games (207 starts) in his first 8 years with the Giants and he is 70-74 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Giants’ offense needs to start hitting when Cain pitches, because he has to get frustrated by pitching well and not getting the win…..and that has happened a lot in his career so far.

The Giants have placed 35-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Aubrey Huff on the 15-day disabled list due to an anxiety disorder. He has played in 12 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 6 for 33 (.182 avg, .633 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Here’s to hoping that the Giants give 24-year old lefty swinging Brandon Belt a chance to win the starting job at 1B with Huff out of action. Belt has played in 13 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 7 for 29 (.241 avg, .698 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Giants have called up 27-year old righty swinging infielder Joaquin Arias to replace Huff on the active roster. Arias has played in 18 games in AAA-ball for the Giants this year and he is 28 of 70 (.400 avg, .990 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers and 17 RBIs. He last played in the majors in 2010 with the Mets & Rangers. He has played in 113 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 71 of 257 (.276 avg, .676 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 0 homers, 23 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Arias is a solid ballplayer and I think he will help the Giants off the bench.

25-year old righty swinging catcher Buster Posey is off to a great start in 2012. He has played in 13 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 18 of 48 (.375 avg, .965 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Posey has now played in 173 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 190 of 633 (.300 avg, .826 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 24 homers, 93 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Giants hope that Posey stays healthy in 2012, because they need his bat.

Righty swinging LF Kevin Mitchell was a powder keg with the bat for the Giants in his short time with the team. His best year with the Giants was in 1989 when he won the N.L. MVP Award. Mitchell played in 154 games for the Giants in 1989 and he was 158 of 543 (.291 avg, 1.023 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 47 homers, 125 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Mitchell led the majors in both homers and RBIs in 1989. He made it to the All-Star team and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1989. Mitchell played in 624 games in his five years with the Giants and he was 614 of 2,211 (.278 avg, .892 OPS) with 351 runs scored, 143 homers, 411 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Mitchell was only with the Giants for five years, but he made his mark with them.

33-year old lefty starting pitcher Barry Zito looked like he was toast last year. He pitched in 13 games (9 starts) for the Giants in 2011 and he was 3-4 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This year though, Zito has been amazing for the Giants. Zito has started 3 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. He has only allowed 14 hits and 4 walks in his first 21 innings while whiffing 10 batters, as he has been outstanding. The Giants hope he keeps up the good work as he has been rock solid.

32-year old righty swinging Justin Christian and 25-year old lefty swinging Roger Kieschnick are off to great starts in AAA-ball for the Giants. Christian has played in 10 games so far in AAA this year and he is 23 of 42 (.548 avg, 1.373 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base! He has played in 42 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 22 of 87 (.253 avg, .638 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers, 10 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Roger Kieschnick came into this season as the Giants’ #27 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 12 games so far in AAA-ball and he is 19 for 48 (.396 avg, 1.203 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs. Kieschnick has now played in 329 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 345 of 1,247 (.277 avg, .801 OPS) with 190 runs scored, 46 homers, 204 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Christian and Kieschnick could force their ways to San Francisco if they keep hitting the heck out of the ball.

Many “experts” thought that 27-year old switch-hitting outfielder Melky Cabrera’s 2011 season with the Royals was a mirage. He played in 155 games for the Royals last year and he was 201 of 658 (.305 avg, .809 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 18 homers, 87 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Cabrera is making those “experts” squirm as he is off to a good start with the bat so far in 2012. Cabrera has played in 9 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 12 of 37 (.324 avg, .877 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has walked more times (4) than he has whiffed (3) so far this year and that proves that he is locked in at the plate right now. The Giants like what they have seen out of Cabrera so far this year.

30-year old righty closer Brian Wilson needs major elbow surgery and he’s going to miss the rest of the 2012 season. He pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Giants this year and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 9.00 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. Wilson has now pitched in 315 games (0 starts) in his first seven years with the Giants and he is 20-20 with 171 saves, a 3.21 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Righties Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla and lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez will likely form a closer by committee and it should work out o.k. as all four of those guys are solid relievers.

One pitcher on the Giants is 0-1 with a 12.91 ERA and a 2.22 WHIP, while another starting pitcher is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.44 WHIP with a complete game shutout. Can you guess who is who? Tim Lincecum is the first pitcher as he has given up 14 hits (2 homers) and 3 walks in 7 2/3 innings while whiffing 10 batters in his first two starts of 2012. Lefty Barry Zito threw a 4-hit, complete game shutout in his first start of the season without walking anyone and whiffing 4 batters. I think Lincecum is going to straighten out in the very near future, as he is too good to be pitching like he is right now. The Giants have to feel a little giddy after watching Barry Zito’s first start of the year as he looked like the pitcher they thought they were getting when they signed him away from the Oakland A’s.

25-year old switch-hitting 3B Pablo Sandoval is ripping the ball for the Giants so far this year. He has played in 5 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 8 for 21 (.381 avg, 1.268 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. The Giants hope that Sandoval can stay healthy in 2012, because that is the only thing that has ever really slown him down as he can flat out hit the ball. The Giants hope that Sandoval’s hot streak starts to rub off on some of the other players on the team.