Brandon Belt had a weird little run with the Giants, going from top prospect to surprising Opening Day starter and suddenly finding himself a bit over his head.
But it was obvious he could play at the bigs, and that's the very reason why I wrote that he shouldn't get too shook up about the demotion.
And Belt's already proving why he's gotten the opportunities he has less than a week after being sent back down to the minors.
In two games with Triple-A Fresno -- and yes, small-sample-size alert applies here -- Belt's three-for-seven with a home run, two walks, seven total bases and four RBI.
Yes, it's two games (see aforementioned alert). But bigger knee-jerk decisions have been made; in fact, one could argue that such a similar move was made when Belt got shipped back down to Fresno.
Fortunately, it doesn't appear to be affecting his confidence too much -- if it did, it's likely that you'd see Belt funking it up in the Pacific Coast League, and not coming out of the gates swinging.
Even if he went 20-for-20 with 20 home runs, though, you can all but guarantee that Belt stays in the minors as long as the Giants can afford it.
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Which is to say, at minimum 20 days, and likely longer.
Bringing him up immediately might create a yo-yo effect on his mental state, and no one needs that. It would also mean starting his free agency clock (we previously discussed the importance of this as well) a year earlier.
The team also needs Aubrey Huff to get his stroke going at first base and/or help slap a winning streak together.
Good news abounds, though, since Belt's the future at the corner, and he appears, through two games, to have enough confidence to rebound from a serious career setback.
