Series preview: SF Giants @ White Sox, picks, probables, and players to watch

The SF Giants visit the Chicago White Sox as they look to rebound from a tough series against the Yankees.

The SF Giants will take on the Chicago White Sox on Monday, as the G-men finish out their first road trip of the year. It's a slew of day games for the teams as the Giants continue with an odd stretch of nine straight afternoon games to open up the season. The Chicago forecast calls for rain to open up the week, though, so keep your fingers crossed for some sunshine.

SF Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford follows through on a double against the New York Yankees. (2023) / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

On the field, the Giants didn't accomplish much in New York, thanks in part to the superhuman efforts of Yankees' slugger Aaron Judge. But with that series out of the way, the Giants will turn the page on that painful chapter and look to take on a young Chicago team, who they're a surprising 16-6 against in the all-time series. The White Sox, for their part, will look to use this series to give themselves a leg up on their rivals in a competitive AL Central after splitting a four-game series against the Astros.

Joining me to preview this series matchup is decorated White Sox writer and dedicated Chicagoan Janice Scurio. Together, we'll take a look at players to watch and try to predict how this series might go down.

White Sox players to watch:

1. SS Tim Anderson - Patience is a virtue, always evolving like Tim Anderson himself. Coming into 2023, Anderson’s walk rate had never been above 4.5% throughout his seven-year career. Given we have a small sample to work with in just three regular games played, Anderson has drawn two walks for a cumulative four if you include his performance for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. While we welcome and embrace Anderson finding new ways to get on base, it seems as if all the old ways have not gone neglected: he’s still hitting for contact. Known for frequently breaking this stat, he enters play on Monday with an inflated (yet not too unsustainable) .600 BABIP.
2. RHP Dylan Cease is your Game 2 starter in this series, and is coming off a season where he placed second in AL Cy Young voting. Cease is arguably the ace of this rotation, and has placed a great deal of work in mastering his fastball command. In 2022, Cease posted a career-high 227 strikeouts, and his upside continues well into 2023. The poet laureate’s 10 strikeouts in last Thursday’s game versus the Astros matched Jack McDowell’s 1991 record for most strikeouts by an opening day starter.
3. 3B Yoán Moncada is on a hot start to his 2023 season, in the small showcase of 14 plate appearances. A 1.000 OPS after three starts is indeed, inflated, but also includes a homer, a double, five singles and two RBI - not a terrible showing for a series against Astros pitching. The third baseman’s health had been nagging him all 2022 - while he’s always been apt at flashing leather at the hot corner, the bat hasn’t quite matched. Moncada’s success greatly relies on being able to hit velocity again, and lowering his high tendency to strike out.

SF Giants pitcher Sean Hjelle throws a pitch. (2022) / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

SF Giants players to watch:

1. RHP Sean Hjelle - This spot was slated for Joey Bart, whose 2023 season may well make or break his tenure in San Francisco Unfortunately, Bart suffered back tightness ahead of the Yankees series, and was placed on the 10-day IL. In his place, they called up Hjelle (Giants #28 prospect), a 6’11 swingman who many thought might break camp with San Francisco. Hjelle debuted on Sunday but only threw two innings. He worked on adding velocity to his arsenal this offseason, and while he might not be Randy Johnson just yet, he could be a real strikeout threat with a sinker touching 95. Look for Hjelle to “piggyback” starters in long relief as part of the Giants’ plan to gradually ramp up their rotation.
2. SS Brandon Crawford - Who needs Carlos Correa? Crawford has started the 2023 season as the Giants’ hottest offensive player, smacking a double and home run while also contributing a sneaky stolen base. If he can put up a year even remotely resembling his down-ballot MVP 2021 season, he’ll put an incredible cap on a historic career. It doesn’t hurt that after a brief defensive dip last year, Crawford’s glovework is still as good as advertised. 
3. RHP Anthony DeSclafani - 3 games into the season, the Giants haven’t come close to a quality start. Webb and Stripling gave up 4 ER each, and Cobb only allowed 1 ER but didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. DeSclafani will try to change that on Monday, taking his first start since June of last year. Like Crawford, it’s easy to forget just how dominant DeSclafani was in 2021. After a less-than-impressive opening series from much of the team, the Giants need him to be a stopper and regain that form.

Series Predictions:

JD Salazar - Giants drop two games in this set. Their starting rotation, which was projected all offseason as their greatest strength, has proven vulnerable so far. Whatever issues might be at play - ramping up, offseason adjustments, catching inconsistencies - might be old news two weeks from now, so it's not like there's real reason to panic. But until the rotation becomes an obvious strength, I can’t give San Francisco the benefit of the doubt against an opponent they don’t have a clear edge on.

Janice Scurio - White Sox take the series 2-1.

Series Details

Who: SF Giants vs. Chicago White Sox
Where: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago IL
When: Mon. 4/3 (1:10 PM PT), Wed. 4/5 (11:10 AM PT), Thur. 4/6 (11:10 AM PT). No game Tue. 4/4.

Projected Starters: Anthony DeSclafani vs. Michael Kopech (4/3), Logan Webb vs. Dylan Cease (4/5/23), Alex Wood* vs. Lance Lynn (4/6)
*indicates LHP

Where to watch/listen:

• SF Giants broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 680/1510 AM (KSFN)
• White Sox broadcast: NBC Sports Chicago+, WMVP 1000 AM/TUDN WRTO 1200