Melvin releases spring opener lineup
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> For the first time Friday morning as manager of the San Francisco Giants, Bob Melvin made up his lineup card and hung it in home clubhouse.
It being for their first exhibition of the Cactus League schedule, there were a few names missing. But the group that will start Saturday's game against the Cubs, behind Logan Webb on the mound, should at least somewhat resemble the one that takes the field next month for Opening Day.
Most notably absent were the Giants' two biggest free-agent acquisitions, center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and slugger Jorge Soler.
Nursing a sore side from swinging in the cage, Lee is “a day or two away,” from making his debut, Melvin said, describing the issue as minor.
Soler, Melvin joked upon acquiring him, would be “bubble wrapped” to ensure he breaks camp healthy, and repeated Friday, “he's in bubble wrap.” Monday against the Angels is tentatively scheduled to be his first time in the lineup, at designated hitter, Melvin said.
Leading off and DHing in the first game will be
Austin Slater, whose slow recovery from offseason elbow surgery is still preventing him from playing the field, and following him the top six spots are all filled by veterans expected to be a regular presence in the regular season.
Making up the bottom third of the order is a trio of top prospects, hoping to secure spots on the Opening Day roster.
Batting eighth, beginning his quest to become Brandon Crawford's successor, will be Marco Luciano, whom Melvin said they want to “seize” the starting shortstop job this spring. And sandwiching the 22-year-old infielder are Heliot Ramos, batting seventh and playing right field, and Luis Matos, rounding out the order as
the center fielder.
Ramos, 24, has been the “star” of live batting practice against Giants' pitchers, Melvin said, routinely tanking balls beyond the outfield wall, including the first pitch thrown to a batter all camp by incoming starter Jordan Hicks. With Slater and Mike Yastrzemski (shoulder) nursing respective ailments, the former first-round draft pick should get a long look under the new coaching staff.
“It's been impressive to see,” Melvin said. “Look, I haven't been around him. I obviously looked a lot at the body of work and where he is in his career here, but if someone's come in and tried to make an impact, he's off to a really good start.”
The 22-year-old Matos, meanwhile, clearly took to heart the club's directive to bulk up this offseason, looking noticeably more muscular below the new set of cornrows on his head. After managing against him while in San Diego, Melvin has taken notice.
“He looks a little different,” Melvin said. “I don't know him well enough now to know if there's a little bit different commitment to what he's doing right now, but he's still a young guy but a high-profile guy in this organization. I would think even though he's young, he's thinking this is my time now. Whether it was when I saw him over at Papago a couple times, to now … there's a seriousness it seems like to him this year.”
Webb, the starting pitcher, isn't likely to go more than two innings, followed by a procession of single-inning relievers.
The lineup is subject to change — Luciano has been nursing a sore hamstring — but, Melvin said, “that's always the risk, you know, of saying my lineup now.”
1. Austin Slater, DH
2. Wilmer Flores, 1B
3. Michael Conforto, LF
4. J.D. Davis, 3B
5. Thairo Estrada, 2B
6. Patrick Bailey, C
7. Heliot Ramos, RF
8. Marco Luciano, SS
9. Luis Matos, CF
SP: Logan Webb, RHP