Tag Archives: defensive positioning

Brandon Belt’s Potential Roads to the Show

While the questions regarding the Giants final 25-man roster have mostly been limited to backup catcher (Chris Stewart has a .907 OPS in 26 Spring Training PAs!) and long relief (Dan Runzler has a 2.77 ERA and a 6.0 K:BB ratio in 13 IP!), the main “controversy” has revolved around Brandon Belt, the hard-hitting prospect.

Belt, a 22-year-old lefty first baseman from Texas, was drafted by the Giants in the 5th round of the 2009 draft. In 2010, his first year of pro ball, he was promoted quickly: he played just 77 games in Single-A, 46 games in AA, and finished the year playing AAA ball in Fresno. Across the three levels he had an extraordinary slash line of .352/.455/.620 with 23 HR. While these numbers should certainly be taken with a grain of salt, considering that they combine three sets of stats from extremely different leagues, they’re certainly impressive.

So the question is: what should happen to him in 2011?

Continue reading