In praise of Brandon Belt, who may be the Giants next premiere prospect. He rises to the top of my list, ahead of the seemingly forgotten man, Conor Gilaspie.
from espn.com
Jason Grey is a scout for ESPN, and said this about Belt: "Having… [seen Belt] for the first couple of weeks of the AFL. There’s no doubt in my mind Belt is legit and a potential middle–of-the-order threat in a big league lineup capable of hitting for average and power." He went on to say "I’ve liked Belt’s Approach, the quality of his at-bats, his ability to generate power without over swinging and his ability to go to the opposite field with some juice. He’s played good defense at first base and has showed good athleticism, enough that I’ve changed my mind to think he might not look out of place should the Giants choose to play him in left field, where he dabbled a little bit in the minors this year."
and this analysis from Project Prospect by Adam Foster:
http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/08/14/first-look-scouting-brandon-belt
Brandon Belt first caught my eye during the 2009 College World Series. But it was largely because he had been one of the University of Texas' best hitters. Despite a 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame, the lefty was more of a gap-to-gap threat than a slugger.
...I see an athletic hitter with little head movement who does a good job staying back with his upper body then explodes his hips through the ball. Belt does all this while maintaining a level swing path and keeping his barrel in the zone for a good amount of time. What's more, he displays an impressive amount of wrist strength, accelerating his hands through the ball as he makes contact.
Good stuff.
Doug Mapson, the Giants Coordinator of Amateur Scouting, gave a glowing report on Belt to John Klima of Baseball Beginnings. The 29-year scout who is best known for signing an amateur named Greg Maddux called Belt an "emerging young hitter" last summer.
"Here’s a guy who is 6-5, 220, who is a good athlete and a good fielder, has a good arm, he’s just learning to hit and he’s had moderate success," Mapson said. "I think all the upside is in front of this guy."
"We’ll see what kind of offensive player he becomes, but anyone who thinks they can solve hitting in just a few years of amateur ball is sorely mistaken," Mapson continued.
So far, so good.
- Good athlete
- good base runner
- selective hitter who works the count
- advance hitting approach
- gap to gap hitter with power potential down the road
Sound like the early reviews that came in on Buster Posey. The only question mark seems to be how well does he hit at the AAA level and where does he play once he gets to SF? It seems like 1B and LF are the possible options. The 1B Belt - LF Huff option seems most likely, but it all depends on how the returning vets perform as well.
There's likely not as much of a push within the organization to elevate Belt as rapidly as Posey given the respective bonus payments invested in each player. Posey was a mega-bonus, top of the first-rounder versus Belt drafted as a fifth-rounder. Given the success that Posey enjoyed, there is a natural inclination to get giddy and hope that lightning strikes twice. It will be better for Belt and the organization if they can afford to be patient in Belt's development, but the comparisons -- both what the eyes and the statistics tell us -- are striking.
Stat.......Posey....Belt
K/PA.......0.089....0.159
BB/PA......0.178....0.150
OPS........1.058....1.116
K/BB.......0.500....1.061
Posey's numbers were top of the line in all four categories, generally a solid indicator of future success. Belt's progress seems to indicate that perhaps lightning can strike twice for the Giant. Perhaps sometime around the middle of the season, Belt can move up and contribute a sorely needed left-handed bat to the Giants lineup.
Scanning the farm system and the development of the pitching prospects, it may be a lean year in 2011. Looking further down the line there are some RHP prospects that bear watching. Jose Casilla, Seth Rosin and Jason Stoffel seem as if they could appear on the MLB roster towards the end of 2011 ready to contribute. Rosin and Stoffel are solid, if unspectacular, prospects with Casilla displaying perhaps the highest ceiling. Zack Wheeler may be two or three years away and the early returns were not gaudy, but he has done nothing to downgrade the opinion that he will be a top of the rotation starter down the road.
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