31-year old righty swinging outfielder Angel Pagan has been ripping the ball in August for the Giants. He has played in 27 games so far in August for the Giants and he is 37 of 106 (.349 avg, 1.025 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Pagan has now played in 123 games overall this year for the Giants and he is 140 of 481 (.291 avg, .782 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 8 homers, 49 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Pagan stepping up has limited the damage of Melky Cabrera’s suspension so far, so they hope he keeps up the good work with the bat in September.

The Giants have taken things slowly with 24-year old righty reliever so far in his minor league career and that patience is starting to pay off in 2012. Valdez has pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in A-ball so far this year and he is 6-4 with 7 saves, a 2.72 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has given up 51 hits and 25 walks while whiffing 76 batters in only 56 1/3 innings so far this year and those are rock solid numbers. Valdez has now pitched in 177 games (24 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 15-17 with 10 saves, a 4.68 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. The Giants will probably have Valdez take a shot at AA-ball in 2013.

28-year old righty starting pitcher Tim Lincecum is starting to get his act together and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Giants….as they are trying to hold off the Dodgers in the N.L. West. In his last 8 starts, Lincecum is 4-3 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Giants this year and he is 7-13 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Lincecum leads the majors in losses with 13 of them, but all will be forgiven if he pitches well the rest of the season.

28-year old switch-hitting outfielder Melky Cabrera has been suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for testosterone. That helps explain his breakout season for the Giants. He played in 113 games for the Giants this year and he was 159 of 459 (.346 avg, .906 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 11 homers, 60 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. At the time of his suspension, Cabrera was leading Major League Baseball in hits (159) and he was leading the National League in runs scored (84). For now, 28-year old lefty swinging Gregor Blanco will take over in LF, but the Giants should be searching for an offensive upgrade in the trade market. Blanco has played in 99 games for the Giants so far this year and he is 69 of 297 (.232 avg, .673 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. This is a huge blow to the Giants’ playoff chances.

24-year old lefty swinging 1B Brandon Belt has been swinging a red hot bat so far in August for the Giants. He has played in 12 games so far in August and he is 17 of 36 (.472 avg, 1.192 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Belt has now played in 102 games overall this year and he is 74 of 277 (.267 avg, .771 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 4 homers, 37 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. The Giants are going to need Belt to keep ripping the ball to help for the loss of Melky Cabrera, who has been suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball.

36-year old righty swinging infielder Marco Scutaro has really swung a hot bat since the Giants picked him up in a deal with the Rockies a couple of weeks ago. Scutaro has played in 13 games for the Giants so far and he is 18 of 52 (.346 avg, .860 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 14 RBIs. He has now played in 108 games overall this year for the Giants and the Rockies in which he is 102 of 377 (.280 avg, .706 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 5 homers, 44 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. I look for the Giants to probably shift Scutaro to 2B or SS (shortstop is more likely) when 3B Pablo Sandoval returns to action.

The San Francisco Giants have placed 32-year old righty reliever Shane Loux on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained neck. Loux has pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 5.66 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has given up 27 hits (3 homers) while walking only 6 batters and whiffing 9 in 20 2/3 innings so far this year. This isn’t much of a loss for the Giants as Loux doesn’t miss many bats.

The Giants have claimed 27-year old lefty reliever Jose Mijares off waivers from the Royals. Mijares pitched in 51 games (0 starts) this year for the Royals and he was 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He gave up 36 hits and walked 13 batters in 38 2/3 innings while whiffing 37 batters for the Royals this year, which is pretty darn impressive. Mijares has now pitched in 237 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 5-8 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. It’s amazing to me that the Royals let Mijares go for nothing. This was a great move for the Giants.

The Giants have signed 33-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Xavier Nady to a minor league deal. Nady played in 40 games for the Nationals earlier this year and he was 16 for 102 (.157 avg, .486 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 920 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he was 780 of 2,882 (.271 avg, .756 OPS) with 355 runs scored, 100 homers, 399 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He could help the Giants down the road possibly, if he hits well in the minors first.

35-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong came out of nowhere for success with the Giants in 2011. He pitched in 30 games (28 starts) for the Giants in 2011 and he was 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Vogelsong is proving this year that his success of last year was not a fluke. He has pitched in 19 games (all starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 8-5 with a N.L. leading 2.22 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Vogelsong has now pitched in 169 games (80 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 31-34 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has repaid the Giants handsomely for giving him another shot at the majors after failing so many times.