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?

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Episode 15: Fear the Oblique

The king of Mount Olympus won't be bothered with a simple strain.

Episode 15: Fear the Oblique is out!

In the fifteenth episode, Thomas and Danny talk about Brian Wilson’s oblique strain, wherever the hell that is, and who could fill in as closer, as well as possible outfield woes, NL West rivalries, and Danny’s fantasy baseball draft.

Check it out on iTunes, or on the RSS feed. We look forward to your feedback, either by commenting here on the blog, emailing us at giantspod@gmail.com, or our Twitter feed.

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Like a Record Baby, Right Round Round Round (Get it? A Rotation Joke!)

In addition to Brandon Belt flashing some leather on defense, Sandoval slugging dingerz like the Panda of old, and reports of Mark DeRosa’s death appearing to be greatly exaggerated, one tidbit of “news” has actually appeared, when Bruce Bochy announced an order for the stellar Giants pitching rotation.

Timmy remains the Ace, followed by Jonny, Matty, Barry and Maddy. Compared to last year’s rotation, Lincecum stayed as the ace, Zito got a major demotion, Cain stayed steady, Sanchez got a good promotion, and Bumgarner took the 5th starter spot from Todd Wellemeyer’s cold, dead fingers. If this is, indeed, the rotation that Bochy plans to take into the regular season, it raises a few questions.

First of all, Matt “The Sheriff” Cain. In 2010, Cain had an amazing year, and by some accounts a better (more consistent, at least) year than Lincecum. Cain has the makings of an Ace, and would be on most other ballclubs, which makes it curious that he would remain in the third role. Present elbow issues aside, he’s Mr. Reliable. He devours innings like some bad 2010 Pablo Sandoval joke – in his 5 full seasons, his 1049.1 IP are the 8th-most in the MLB during that time. In 2010 he lasted fewer than 6 innings only five times; he lasted fewer than 5 innings only twice. He is the picture of stability, working for a 3.00 ERA in August 2010, while the pitching staff as a whole (including Cain) had a 4.55 ERA. He threw over 100 pitches in 21 of his 33 regular-season starts, and he didn’t give up an earned run in the post-season. Plus he has a great head of hair.

So, why isn’t he the #2 pitcher?

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