23-year old righty swinging catcher Buster Posey burst onto the scene for the Giants last season as he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. The Giants expect that Posey is going to start being a N.L. All-Star quite often, likely starting in 2011 as long as he can stay healthy. Posey played in 108 games for the Giants last year and he was 124 of 406 (.305 avg, .862 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 18 homers and 67 RBIs. I can see him hitting over .300 once again in 2011 for the Giants with around 80 runs scored, 25 homers and 100 RBIs as long as he can stay healthy. Posey made 6 errors but he only had 1 passed ball in 76 games behind the plate for the Giants last season. Posey threw out 18 of 62 (29.0%) runners trying to steal against him last season and Giants’ pitchers had a 3.18 ERA with him behind the plate. Posey is the best all-around catcher that I have seen since Joe Mauer came into the majors.

31-year old Eli Whitside will be his backup once again in 2011. Whiteside played in 56 games for the Giants last season and he was 30 of 126 (.238 avg, .696 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Giants will be ecstatic if Whiteside can duplicate his 2010 offensive numbers in 2011 as he’s not much of a hitter. Whiteside only had 2 errors and 2 passed balls in 55 games behind the plate for the Giants last season. He threw out 9 of 41 (22.0%) runners trying to steal on him last season and Giants’ pitchers had a 3.54 ERA with him behind the plate. Whiteside brings solid defense to the field when he plays so he is an asset to the Giants.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE GIANTS CATCHERS IN 2011: A+

The Giants have signed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Banks to a minor league deal. Banks pitched in 1 game (1 start) for the Astros last season and he was 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 27 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 9-12 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Banks has now pitched in 27 games (19 starts) in parts of four years in the majors and he is 4-8 with a 5.66 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Banks will likely start the 2011 season in AAA-ball for the Giants.

The Giants have signed 37-year old righty reliever Marc Kroon to a minor league deal. He last pitched in the majors in 2004 with the Rockies. He has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in parts of four years in the majors and he is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP. Kroon has been pitching in Japan the last few years and he was very successful as a closer over there. We’ll see if the new tricks he learned in Japan work in the majors. Colby Lewis of the Texas Rangers returned as a much better pitcher after a stint in Japan, so you never know. This was a nice low risk/high reward signing for the Giants.

The Giants have signed 36-year old righty starter/reliever Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal. Suppan pitched in 30 games (15 starts) for the Cardinals & Brewers last season and he was 3-8 with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He has now pitched in 442 games (411 starts) in his first 16 years in the majors and he is 138-143 with a 4.69 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Suppan will compete with Barry Zito this spring for the #5 job in the starting rotation. Suppan could also serve as the Giants’ long reliever if he loses out to Zito. I like this signing for the Giants as Suppan should be able to give them some decent innings out of the pen or in the rotation in 2011.

The Giants have signed 33-year old righty reliever/starter Ryan Vogelsong to a minor league deal. Vogelsong pitched in 33 games (14 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 3-8 with 1 save, a 4.81 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. He walked 62 batters in 95 1/3 innings last season so control is a HUGE issue with him! Vogelsong last pitched in the majors in 2006 with the Pirates. He has now pitched in 120 games (33 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 10-22 with a 5.86 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Vogelsong will likely start the 2011 season in AAA-ball for the Giants.