Giants’ Futures Odds Keep Improving; Is It Time to Buy into San Francisco as a Team of Destiny?

• The San Francisco Giants are 19-5 in their last 24 games.
• The Giants are now just 2.5 games out of a Wild Card playoff spot.
• The Giants should still be sellers at the trade deadline.

The San Francisco Giants continue to rise up the standings in the National League. Thanks to an impressive hot streak, they are now only 2.5 games out of a Wild-Card spot. Are they worth a bet to win either the division, National League Pennant, or the 2019 World Series? Or is this merely a brief summer flicker?

2019 San Francisco Giants Odds

*Odds as of 30/07/19.

Giants Are On Fire Right Now

It wasn’t long ago that the Giants were a dumpster fire. They were 12 games under .500 on June 30th. Since then, though, they’ve channeled that flame and become one of the best teams in baseball. They are 19-5 in their last 24 games and are now 54-52.

The season has really been a tale of two teams as the Giants were arguably one of the worst two teams in the National League early on but since then, their winning percentage is among the best in the Majors.

No Pedigree Here

If you’re trying to figure out which Giants team is the real one, the answer is in the pedigree. This team had none over the last two seasons as they finished dead-last in the division in 2017 and in 2018. That’s closer to who they actually are – even if they’ve gotten hot for one month.

If they were a team that was competitive last year or a playoff team in 2017 that had an off year in 2018, I might think otherwise. As it stands now, it would seem that this team was bad the last two years, continued their losing ways to start the season and has merely been hot for a month.

A Lot Of Bad Signs With This Team

Sure, they’ve been incredible over the last month but a number of things point to this being unsustainable. For starters, the Giants have the oldest group of hitters in the Majors at 30.1 years of age. In terms of their pitching staff, they’re at 29.5, which is sixth-oldest. This isn’t a young roster that’s coming of age.

This team also doesn’t have much in the way of a farm system with just two of baseball’s Top 100 prospects. Does it really make sense to put off the rebuild in hopes of cobbling together some kind of run this season? Madison Bumgarner and All-Star closer Will Smith are in the final years of their deals.

And if they do decide to add at the trade deadline, who do they have to trade? Absent of help at the deadline, this team isn’t worth a bet to make any significant noise.

What’s The Best Bet?

The Giants aren’t winning the division. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a 14.5-game lead and they’re taking it. In terms of the next prop – to win the NL Pennant – that’s also not happening as the Giants aren’t good enough to make it through the NL in the playoffs. That means I’m also out on betting them to win the World Series.

Baseball Prospectus gives this team a 5.1 percent chance of making the playoffs. The smart move for them would be to move everyone they can, replenish their farm and rebuild. The fans might not like it but that’s the best play. With that in mind, the only prop I’d consider them for is one to make the playoffs. Outside of that, I’d pass on them all.