DENVER - With Brandon Belt sidelined, there's nobody in the organization who has a shot at topping Chris Shaw's home run total for the year. The massive left fielder crushed 24 homers while playing at Double-A and Triple-A, but he was not part of the third round of September call-ups.
That was expected. The Giants have said for weeks that Shaw, Steven Duggar and Andrew Suarez - three of their top prospects - would not be on of the list. Still, it's a bit of an odd situation. This is a team that's trying to avoid 100 losses, and just about every day the lineup includes some backup-types who won't play prominent roles next year. Why not give Shaw a month-long look?
"Shaw still needs some time defensively," assistant GM Jeremy Shelley said. "He's going to (the instructional league) and the Fall League to continue to work on his defense. We see him factoring in on this team down the line, but right now, we'll get him opportunities to continue working on his defense."
The Giants want Shaw to come up here at some point and stick for good. He's viewed as their left fielder of the future, and the plan has Duggar right next to him in center. Duggar would have been up during the summer, but he missed most of the year with flexor and hamstring injuries. Asked if they'll compete for starting spots next spring, Shelley said, "We'll let that play out," and added that the front office will be watching both closely in the Fall League.
As for Suarez, his season is over after 155 2/3 innings at the two highest levels of the organization. In 15 appearances (13 starts) at Triple-A, the 24-year-old had a 3.55 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.
"He's made great progress this year," Shelley said. "He's a lefty with four big league pitches and command. We think he'll be part of this big league team at some point next year."
Suarez is right there with Tyler Beede in the next wave of potential starting options for an organization that once pumped them out. Tuesday's additions went to the bullpen. Right-handers Reyes Moronta and Roberto Gomez joined the roster, with Gomez set to serve as another long reliever. Moronta, one of the organization's biggest arms, will have a short-relief role.
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Austin Slater was also called up and he will start Wednesday. Bochy said Slater will start every other day. The Giants do not want to push him, since he only got three rehab games after eight weeks off with a groin strain.
