San Francisco Giants starters Carlos Rodón, Logan Webb, and Alex Cobb could have been a real problem for some teams in October. Unfortunately, we never got to see that play out since the SF Giants' defense, bullpen, and offense ranged from inconsistent to flat-out bad in 2022.
But that shouldn't take away from the fact that Rodón was a legitimate Cy Young candidate for the Giants in 2022. He ended up with one of the majors' best strikeout rates, and he led MLB in FIP and fWAR among starting pitchers. Rodón will opt out of his $22.5M contract with the San Francisco Giants for 2023, and somehow they'll need to replace his front-of-the-rotation presence.
Logan Webb may not have been quite as good as he was with the Giants in 2021, but he was almost as good. The strikeout rate dipped a bit, but he still was basically the same guy, with an ability to strike guys out and an elite ability to keep the ball on the ground. Webb is arbitration eligible for the first time and has three years of team control remaining. It's time to start thinking about the Giants making efforts to extend Webb this offseason.
Speaking of Webb's ability to keep the ball on the ground, Alex Cobb was even better in this respect. Cobb was second in baseball in ground ball rate, min. 140 innings, and Webb was third. Rodón, Webb, and Cobb were in the top 14 in FIP among pitchers with at least 140 innings pitched. Cobb's underlying numbers were substantially better than his ERA, which ended up being fine but unspectacular. With better infield defense behind him, Cobb looks like someone who's a legitimately good major league starter. Cobb is under contract for $9 million next year, and the Giants hold a $10 million club option for 2024 with a $2 million buyout.
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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.
Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.
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