Now that Buster Posey has been called up, Giants fans have attached themselves to the next top offensive prospect, Brandon Belt. I thought that with September callups and the fact that most people don’t have insider this would be as good as time of any to relay the info.
Jason Grey of ESPN has broken down Brandon Belt and suggests that he is the next real star first baseman. So much for Buster Posey moving to first.
Belt has quick hands and good bat speed. A more upright, open stance helps keep him from getting his long levers jammed on the inner half of the plate and lets him get his arms extended more often, and he has incorporated a little more loft in his swing to turn more of his good raw power into game power, yet still allowing his zone to stay in the bat a long time. (Too much of an uppercut stroke makes your bat get out of the zone too quickly for consistent, hard contact.) He’s still mostly a line-drive hitter who squares balls up to the gaps, but he now gets better hip turn and doesn’t cut himself off as much, which gets him more carry on the ball. Belt also references being able to see the ball a bit better, and thus far he has demonstrated an ability to handle the strike zone well, walking almost as many times as he has struck out. He also has solid pitch recognition. Scouting reports say he stays back on offspeed stuff well.
