Predicting the future on Opening Day

Three-ish predictions comin' in hot.

It's officially the best time of the year. I'm ready to indulge in the requisite excitement, hope, and overreactions that Opening Day demands.

Last year I marked the start of the season with three-ish predictions. Only the negative one came true: the Giants did not have a 30-homer guy … for the 20th straight season. (But I did have a pretty good preseason take on Farhan Zaidi's last stand.)

I'll take another stab at predictions in the lead up to Giants-Reds at 1:10 p.m.

• Willy Adames and Matt Chapman will each start 150+ games, with at least one of them playing all 162. Am I tempting the injury gods? Yes. But the Giants committed $300 million to these guys because they play. No platoons. No nonsense. They're in the lineup. (In that vein, a slam-dunk mini prediction: the Giants will use fewer players this year than in any of the Farhan seasons.)

• Justin Verlander will pitch well enough to return to the Giants in 2026. I don't think this is a high bar to clear. He wants to chase 300 wins and pitch as long as possible. Buster Posey likes having a Hall of Fame pitcher around, and the marketing department doesn't mind it either. He's 38 wins shy of 300, and I think he'll shave 12 off that number in 2025.

• The Giants will have a winning record in September. This is oddly specific, I know. But the final month of the season has trapped the Giants for two years. I think they'll surge toward postseason—but I won't go so far as to say they'll make it. It'll be close.

FanGraphs gives the Giants a 28.5% chance to make the playoffs. It's going to take some good teams being worse than they should be. It's going to take the Giants being better than they should be. Let’s ride.

The record: 84-78

The home run leader: Chapman (28)

The wins leader: Robbie Ray (15)

The All Star(s): Ryan Walker, Chapman