34-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong got a minor league contract and an invite to spring training last winter from the Giants. He got his big chance when Barry Zito was injured early in the year and he ran with it. Vogelsong has pitched in 30 games (28 starts) for the Angels so far this year and he is 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has now pitched in 150 games (61 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 23-29 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Vogelsong will have a spot in the Giants’ rotation in 2012 and someone could have gotten rich last March if they placed a bet on that happening.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Matt Cain is one of the most underrated pitchers in all of baseball, due to an utter lack of run support. He has pitched in 30 games (all starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 11-10 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has now pitched in 201 games (200 starts) in his first 7 years with the Giants and he is 68-72 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The lack of run support is not a new thing concerning Matt Cain as the Giants never have seemed to score for him in his career.

21-year old lefty starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner has really stepped up for the Giants as of late.  In his last 7 starts, Bumgarner is 4-2 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Giants so far this year and he is 10-12 with a 3.37 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.  He has given up 182 hits in 181 2/3 innings so far this year, but he has limited the damage by whiffing 170 batters and walking only 42.  Bumgarner will be the Giants’ #3 starter going forward behind Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.

Rookie 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Eric Surkamp looked good in his major league debut over the weekend. He didn’t get the win but he threw six innings allowing only 6 hits, allowing 3 walks, 1 earned run and he whiffed 4 batters. The Giants sent him back to the minors after the game but they will likely call him right back up when rosters expand on September 1st. Before his promotion, Surkamp pitched in 23 games (22 starts) in AA-ball for the Giants and he was 10-4 with a 2.02 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.

32-year old lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt had a rough start to the 2011 season, but the last three months he has been nails. Since June 1st, Affeldt is 1-2 with 3 saves, a 1.21 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Overall this year, Affeldt has pitched in 61 games (0 starts) in which he is 2-2 with 3 saves, a 2.51 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has only given up 43 hits in his first 57 1/3 innings while whiffing 51 batters, which is impressive. He has walked 23 batters and that’s too many but it’s also nitpicking.