30-year old lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt finished tied with Chris Coghlan and Brad Hawpe for 28th for the N.L. MVP Award. Affeldt pitched in 74 games (0 starts) for the Giants last year and he was 2-2 with a 1.73 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He only allowed 42 hits in 62 1/3 innings while whiffing 55 batters showing just how tough he was last season. Affeldt has now pitched in 434 games (42 starts) in his major league career and he is 28-30 with 18 saves, a 4.27 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Giants are hoping that 2009 was just a sign of things to come for Affeldt as he has never pitched close to that well in his major league career before.

20-year old lefty starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner was the Giants’ #1 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America and he has certainly showed why so far this year. Bumgarner pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in A+AA ball this season and he was 12-2 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He only allowed 100 hits in 131 1/3 innings in the minors as he missed a lot of bats. When rosters expanded on September 1st the Giants promoted him to help out the pitching staff. He has pitched in 3 games (1 start) for the Giants so far and he is 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only walked 1 batter while whiffing 9 of them in only 8 innings for the Giants. He could compete for a job in what could be a dominating starting rotation next spring.

Closer Brian Wilson is a big reason why the Giants are still in the Wild Card hunt. He has pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Giants this season and he is 5-5 with 35 saves, a 2.61 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has only allowed 58 hits in 69 innings this season while whiffing 76 batters. The Giants play a lot of close games which makes Wilson a tad more important than most closers in the majors and he has done a great job.

The Giants signed lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a nice contract in the off-season and he has proven to be worth every penny of it. Affeldt has pitched in 69 games this season out of the bullpen and he is 1-2 with a 1.75 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has only allowed 40 hits in 56 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 50 batters which shows his stuff has been nasty. The only weakness in his game this season is his control as he has walked 30 batters….but that’s nitpicking.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has been battling back spasms and missed his last start.  Many have thought that Lincecum is too worn down and has nothing left in the tank this year.  Many thought his back spasms would cause him to miss at least a few starts.  Others say his mechanics are terrible and he wont last.  They point out his recent drop in velocity (only a few mph) as a reason to count this guy out.

People need to stop doubting this kid as he came back tonight as good as ever, getting the win in the Giants 9-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies Monday night.  Lincecum went seven strong innings, giving up only one run on six hits with 11 K’s.  Yeah he wasn’t throwing 98 mph, but he consistently hit 92 on the gun and topped out a few times around 94-95. Lincecum doesn’t need to be a fireballer, as he has a nasty curveball that drops off the table and a devastating change-up to complement his lively fastball.

Lincecum is now 14-5 with a 2.30 ERA and leads the NL in K’s with 244 on the season.  In other Giants news, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is nearing a return for the Giants.  His role will probably be a limited bullpen one, as Johnson says he is playing through a torn labrum.  “The Big Unit” could be a big asset out of the bullpen for the Giants in the playoffs.