Brandon Belt Makes Opening Day Roster

Only one full year in the minors, Giants first baseman Brandon Belt had a tone of hype coming into this years’ spring training. Why not as Belt quickly moved through the Giants minor league system (see stats below) and continued to hit at every level. For the season Belt had 595 plate appearances and hit a sparkling .352 average.

Some MLB analysts have Belt as a possible batting champion and gold glove winner in the future. When you add Belts 23 home runs, 112 RBI’s and 22 stolen bases, Belt’s future looks even brighter. Watching spring games on MLB Network, I’ve had the opportunity to watch Belt play a few times. What impresses me about Belt is his consistent ability to hit to all parts of the field.

2010 Minor League Stats

Year	Tm	Lg	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2010	3 Teams	3 Lgs		136	595	492	99	173	43	23	112	22	8	93	99	.352	.455	.620	1.075
2010	San Jose	CALL	A+	77	333	269	62	103	28	10	62	18	7	58	50	.383	.492	.628	1.121
2010	Richmand	EL	AA	46	201	175	26	59	11	9	40	2	1	22	34	.337	.413	.623	1.036
2010	Fresno	PCL	AAA	13	61	48	11	11	4	4	10	2	0	13	15	.229	.393	.563	.956
1 Season				136	595	492	99	173	43	23	112	22	8	93	99	.352	.455	.620	1.075

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

For all the success Belt had a season ago, most were hopeful that the youngster would start for the Giants on Opening Day, but it wasn’t likely. The main reason being the Giants would gain an extra year (Super Two) of eligibility before they had to possibly pay him a big contract. This is the reason Buster Posey stayed in the minors until June last season.

The Giants failed to hold Tim Lincecum back to the deadline when they brought him up and it cost them about 12 million dollars as they lost an arbitration ruling last winter. Lincecum would have been eligible for arbitration this season if they had only waited a few more weeks.

In the end, the Giants decided to go with Belt as the everyday starter at first and Aubrey Huff will move to the outfield. Belt impressed his coaches and GM Brian Sabean, after struggling early in camp and then making adjustments with this swing and hitting well after his struggles.

As mentioned earlier, Belt is an asset in the field as well and looks like a young J.T. Snow. Snow was one of the best defensive first baseman I can remember, and it’s no coincidence that Belt worked with Snow this offseason.

Fantasy Impact

Look for Bruce Bochy to hit Belt somewhere around seventh in the order to begin the season. San Francisco doesn’t want to put a tone of pressure on the rookie, but eventually he will hit third for this team. If Belt should struggle, he will probably find his way to the minors, but then again, his ability to make adjustments when in a slump may keep him around for good.

For now, Belt is worth stashing on your mixed league roster and is a clear starter in NL only fantasy leagues. It looks like the Giants and Braves (first baseman Freddie Freeman) will have two rookies battling it out for Rookie of the Year once again.

In most mixed leagues Belt can still be found on the waiver wire, but it won’t be for long. Take a shot on him if you’re willing to part with a player on your squad. Belt could be a hit and miss for this season, or you will be kicking yourself for not taking a chance on him to begin the year.