Giants Disrespected by ESPN Opening Day Power Rankings

The San Francisco Giants racked up a franchise-record 107 wins during the 2021 season, but were never truly taken serious as a contender. A team mixed with veteran stars and young talent will look to change that in 2022. The Giants are still being disrespected in ESPN's MLB power rankings, though.

San Francisco Giants Power Rankings

San Francisco checks in at No. 10. That ranks below a New York Mets team that finished under .500 in 2021 and a Toronto Blue Jays squad that missed the playoffs entirely. Nevertheless, the Giants will have to prove the doubters wrong once again and showcase why they are a top five team in baseball.

Manager Gabe Kapler's squad excelled at limiting the long ball last season and it led to a team ERA of 3.24 (No. 2 in MLB). The emergence of starter Logan Webb (11-3 record) gives San Francisco a true ace on the mound and the addition of 2021 All-Star Carlos Rodon (2.37 ERA) provides stellar depth.

While the Giants certainly kept opponents from hitting home runs, they didn't shy away from hitting some of their own. San Francisco ranked second in the majors with 241 dingers. Brandon Belt, Mike Yastrzemski and Brandon Crawford all return after smacking at least 24 home runs last season.

This isn't a team that is driven by one superstar. It's a team that relies on one another and picks up the slack where it is needed, instead. Triple-digit wins will be hard to replicate, however, there is no reason to believe the Giants won't challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West division again.

Sleeping on a San Francisco team built for success is not a smart idea. The Giants have odds set at +2500 to win the World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.