As San Francisco Giants ponder the future, rotation concerns come into focus

It's unlikely Madison Bumgarner will pitch in San Francisco beyond this season, so how will the Giants replace his production?

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SAN FRANCISCO — Amid all the chatter surrounding Madison Bumgarner and Max Muncy’s confrontation in the first inning on Sunday, a key element of Bumgarner’s performance was easily overlooked.

There was discussion as to whether Bumgarner shows too much emotion on the field, talk of whether his actions toward Muncy were over the top and per usual, debate over how the left-hander’s outing impacted his trade value.

There’s plenty of ongoing dialogue as to where Bumgarner will pitch next and how his demeanor will play in another market, but there’s little analysis of how he’ll be replaced when his time with the Giants does come to an end.

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Whether Bumgarner is traded this summer or departs in free agency this offseason, there’s little doubt that one of the greatest pitchers in Giants franchise history will soon make his starts elsewhere. The Giants will not suddenly install a leader of Bumgarner’s caliber atop their rotation, but they will need a starting staff to give the club a chance to compete in the National League West.

Outside of Bumgarner, the long-time staff ace, few Giants pitchers have proven this season they can consistently position the club with a chance to win.

Right-hander Jeff Samardzija owns the lowest ERA on staff at 3.72, but his starts have routinely added stress to the Giants’ bullpen. While Bumgarner leads the Giants with 10 quality starts, Samardzija has recorded just three.

Veteran Johnny Cueto is on track to return from Tommy John surgery for the final month of the season, and if all goes well in his rehab process, Cueto could become the odds-on favorite to replace Bumgarner as the Giants’ Opening Day starter in 2020. As other NL West pitchers like Hyun-jin Ryu of the Dodgers and Zack Greinke of the D’backs have proven, exceptional velocity is not necessary to achieve exceptional results.

The problem the Giants face with both Samardzija and Cueto, however, is that neither pitcher is a building block for the future. Like Bumgarner, their tenures in San Francisco have expiration dates that are rapidly approaching, which shifts the focus on the future to the club’s younger arms.

A two-game series between the fourth-place Padres and last-place Giants may lack drama in mid-June, but this week’s matchups offer San Francisco’s president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi another opportunity to evaluate young starters. While San Diego is sold on the potential of Tuesday starter Chris Paddack and satisfied with the early returns on Wednesday starter Joey Lucchesi, the Giants are beginning to learn more about righties Tyler Beede and Shaun Anderson.

Beede, a 2014 first round draft choice, has three plus-pitches but has lacked consistently and struggled with command in his brief big league career. Anderson, who boasts a similar competitive demeanor to Bumgarner, has four quality offerings, but pitches to contact and may not strike enough hitters out to start at a high level for years to come.

The Giants see value in both young pitchers, but it’s possible that like right-hander Dereck Rodríguez who burst onto the scene with an impressive 2018 season, Beede and Anderson may be better suited to succeed out of the bullpen.

As Zaidi focuses on adding to a future core of position players that includes first round draft choices Heliot Ramos (2017), Joey Bart (2018) and Hunter Bishop (2019), it’s imperative the Giants are able to develop or acquire top-of-the-rotation pitchers for the future. A pair of 2018 draft choices, second-rounder Sean Hjelle and third-rounder Jake Wong, are showing promise in their first full professional seasons, but the Giants need more rotation depth if they hope to challenge for future division crowns.

The Giants recently promoted young lefty Conner Menez from Double-A to Triple-A and were encouraged by right-hander Logan Webb’s progress at Double-A before he was suspended for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. There are plenty of young pitchers the organization is excited about, but so many Giants prospects have had trouble translating their minor league success to the majors in recent years.

That’s why replacing Bumgarner, the last elite pitching prospect the Giants developed, promises to be so difficult. While Bumgarner may net the Giants a potential rotation asset in a trade, there’s plenty of work left for Zaidi and Co. to do if the organization hopes to feel confident in its future starting staffs.