San Francisco Giants Should be Fine Without Madison Bumgarner

San Francisco will have to survive for possibly two months without its ace in the rotation. The good news is his replacement has great potential and the rest of the staff is good enough to stay afloat in the NL West standings.

San Francisco Giants fans felt their hearts stop at about 1:36 p.m. Friday afternoon.

The news that San Francisco’s ace Madison Bumgarner got injured in a dirt bike accident is devastating, considering how big of an impact he has had since being called up in 2009.

He is arguably the most valuable pitcher in the entire league based on how much he’s been paid. He was a key catalyst in the Giants’ quest to three World Series titles. And now he will be cheering from the sidelines for possibly two months.

So how should fans feel moving forward? Well, they shouldn’t feel worried.

San Francisco still boasts a staff with ace in Johnny Cueto, two other reliable veterans in Matt Moore and Jeff Samardzija, a young starter with a load of potential in Ty Blach and…Matt Cain, who has actually exceeded expectations. That’s still better than most rotations in the NL.

An emphasis should be put on Blach, who could actually perform up to high standards. This is a guy who outdueled Clayton Kershaw last season by tossing eight shutout innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers – yes, I know they can’t hit again lefties, but still.

Blach was a valuable asset during his time in Triple-A Sacramento last season, posting a 14-7 record with a 3.43 ERA. He doesn’t allow many home runs, just .5 per nine innings, and he has a decent strikeout rate at just above six K’s per nine innings.

He’s probably not going to be Bumgarner Jr., but he doesn’t have to be in this case. All he needs to do is put up quality starts.

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Pitching may not even be the issue at hand here. San Francisco’s hitting has been substandard for most of the year. The Giants failed to score at least five runs in nearly half of their games so far, and they have already been shutout twice.

Bumgarner received no support on the mound, a reason why he is 0-3 this ear. San Francisco tallied just five runs with him on the mound, and he drove two of them in himself via the long ball.

All of the Giants’ pitchers may have to deal with this moving forward. San Francisco is hitting just .237 as a team and ranks 20th in runs scored and next to last in home runs. Everyone knows the Giants aren’t in the upper echelon in terms of offense, but they probably should be better.

With all of the bad talk against San Francisco’s bullpen, the club’s relievers have performed well since Opening Day’s blowup, sporting a sub-4.00 ERA overall.

Bumgarner’s absence will be difficult to overcome. The southpaw was slated as a prime contender for the NL Cy Young award.

Next: Madison Bumgarner Injures Himself in Biking Accident

But fans shouldn’t be worried. It’s only the third week of the season, and Ty Blach will likely be a serviceable starter as Bumgarner’s replacement.

He could even be a Rookie of the Year candidate if all goes well.