Brandon Belt Called Up, In Lineup Against Dodgers

The San Francisco Giants called up Brandon Belt on Tuesday, according to Andrew Baggarly, and the rookie first baseman is in Tuesday night's lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

If you go by Wins Above Replacement, one of the least valuable players in the majors this year when accounting for position, has been Aubrey Huff. The first baseman for the San Francisco Giants was a postseason hero and fan-favorite last year, but his season has been a bit of a chemical fire this year. Making it especially awkward was the fact that the Giants' best hitting prospect -- and one of the better hitting prospects in the game -- was a first baseman.

The Giants experimented with Belt as the starting first baseman, with Huff in the outfield, to start the season. But after some memorable defensive flubs from Huff and a lackluster start from Belt, the rookie was sent down. When Huff continued not to hit, Belt was called up again, and he was in the majors just long enough to have his hand broken on a Trever Miller fastball.

The injury sidelined Belt for over a month, after which he was activated and sent down to Fresno. At no point did Huff ever come around with the bat. After being activated, Belt hit .324/.477/.706 for triple-A Fresno over a ten-game stretch. His minor-league numbers for his career:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2010	22	3 Teams	3 Lgs	A+-AA-AAA	SFG	136	595	492	173	43	10	23	22	8	93	99	.352	.455	.620	1.075
2011	23	2 Teams	2 Lgs	AAA-A+	SFG	47	202	155	52	12	0	7	5	3	43	43	.335	.475	.548	1.024
2 Seasons						183	797	647	225	55	10	30	27	11	136	142	.348	.460	.603	1.063
AAA (2 seasons)				AAA		56	245	190	57	15	0	11	6	3	51	57	.300	.445	.553	.998
A+ (2 seasons)				A+		81	351	282	109	29	4	10	19	7	63	51	.387	.499	.624	1.123
AA (1 season)				AA		46	201	175	59	11	6	9	2	1	22	34	.337	.413	.623	1.036

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/19/2011.

Those are impressive numbers, and considering that Aubrey Huff is hitting .232/.286/.359 -- though he is leading the team in RBI! -- Belt should start to see some playing time. Just how much, though, will be up to manager Bruce Bochy, a manager who has never been comfortable playing rookies over veteran players with a history of performance.