3 big questions for Giants brass

We’re half-way through spring training, and the questions are only getting tougher:

>> Will Fred Lewis be traded before Opening Day, as has been discussed here before?

>> Will Buster Posey start the season in Fresno (AAA)?  He’s wielding a hot bat right now and making a case for himself.

>> Will Madison Bumgarner earn the coveted No. 5 spot in the Giants’ rotation?

Let’s start with Posey.  It was just a few months ago when Giants’ GM Brian Sabean, who had not yet signed Bengie Molina, said “nobody thinks Posey is ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues.”

That might be true.  But Posey has played well behind the plate this spring.  He is handling the pitching staff just fine and has shown the ability to throw out base runners.

And Posey’s bat is starting to heat up now.  Posey collected two hits for the second day in a row Saturday in the Giants’ 8-7 split-squad exhibition loss to Oakland. The rookie catcher, renowned as San Francisco’s top position-player prospect, lifted his batting average to .368 and his slugging percentage to .632.

The Giants have played Posey at first base (as promised) to see how he might handle the infield and he has looked great there.  That shouldn’t be a surprise since he was signed as a shortstop out of high school by Florida State before the Seminoles converted him to catcher in his sophomore season.

Molina is your starter and barring injury, the veteran will get the job done.  Eli Whiteside is a serviceable backup until the Giants can add Posey’s bat to the lineup later in the season.  If 1B Aubrey Huff were to get injured, I can see the Giants possibly calling up Posey (to keep Pablo Sandoval at third).  But the team also has Juan Uribe and Mark DeRosa (who can both play third) and 1B Travis Ishikawa, so it’s certainly not a guarantee.  Plus, Bochy (a former catcher himself) has said on numerous occasions that he wants to keep Posey at catcher.

So, what will the Giants do with Posey?  This may not be a popular opinion, but I’m still going to say that they send him to Fresno to start the season, and then call him up sometime after June 1, when he passes the point on the calendar where he would be considered a “Super Two” arbitration-eligible player.

In regards to Bumgarner, Sabean said, “In a perfect world, you’d love to have Bumgarner (and Posey) burst on the scene.  But you don’t want to rush them.”  I would have to agree.  The highly touted lefty, who is competing for a spot on the Giants’ Opening Day roster as the No. 5 starter, has struggled mightily this spring.  Talks about his loss of velocity have increased and Bumgarner has been trying to work on a couple of mechanical issues with pitching coach Dave Righetti.  He’ll make his next start Monday night, so we will see if he’s made any progress there.

In the meantime, RHPs Todd Wellemeyer and Kevin Pucetas, who are also vying for the fifth spot in the rotation, have looked really good.  Wellemeyer made quite an impression in his first start of the spring on Friday, pitching four shutout innings (and allowing just two hits) in the Giants’ 9-2 win over the Rockies.

Pucetas has looked sharp as well. He threw three shutout innings of one-hit ball in Saturday’s 8-4 win over the Mariners.  LHP Joe Martinez and RHP Steve Johnson are also trying to grab the fifth spot, but will most likely find themselves in long-relief roles (or the minors) on Opening Day.

Bumgarner is special and as long as he is healthy (and the velocity issue isn’t a concern), he will make his mark in the big leagues — someday.  Let’s not forget, he’s only 20 years old.  It’s still early and everyone is giving him the benefit of the doubt.  Bumgarner has great stuff and when he’s on, he can be very effective.  But it is starting to look like we won’t be seeing him make the club out of camp.

My prediction is that he will start the season in the minors (probably AAA Fresno) and the fifth spot will go to Pucetas who, unlike Wellemeyer, is already on the Giants’ 40-man roster.

LF Fred Lewis has become somewhat of an enigma for the Giants.  He has backed down from his recent “play me or trade me” stance, but Lewis, 28, is at the point in his career where he can no longer be considered a prospect or project.  Lewis will never confuse anyone for Roberto Clemente in the outfield (or at the plate for that matter).  Giants’ play-by-play announcer Dave Flemming went as far as to say on air last week that Lewis “won’t suddenly blossom into a strong defensive outfielder and base-stealer.”

Lewis’ first full year in the majors (2008) wasn’t exactly horrible. He put up respectable numbers of .282/.351/.440 to go with nine HR and 40 RBI.  He also stole 21 bases with his above-average speed.

Those numbers led to high expectations in 2009, but Lewis failed to deliver.

His numbers dipped significantly to .258/.348/.390 with the HR’s and RBI’s being cut in half.  He only swiped 8 bags, but also had nearly 200 less plate appearances.

Lewis has struggled so far in the Cactus League, batting .217 (.280 OBP) with just one home run and three runs batted in.  In 23 at bats, he has drawn just one walk and has struck out four times.

The Giants have lots of options in the outfield.  By practically pronouncing Nate Schierholtz as the Opening Day right fielder a month ago, Lewis won’t see much time there.  The Giants signed Mark DeRosa during the off-season to play left field.  And Aaron Rowand is the starter in center field.  That means Lewis will have to compete with outfielders John Bowker, Eugenio Velez and Andres Torres for at bats and innings.

Only 25 players will wear a San Francisco uniform on Opening Day.  And, barring injuries to key starters, Fred Lewis won’t be one of them.

What are your thoughts?  I’d love to hear them.