San Francisco Giants’ Top Hitting Prospect Arroyo Tearing Up AAA
The hype around San Francisco Giants’ top hitting prospect Christian Arroyo keep getting more and more real, and a hot start in Triple-A only adds fuel to thefire.
After a rough 2016 season at Double-A Richmond, the San Francisco Giants’ top hitting prospect is off to a fantastic start to his first Triple-A season. Christian Arroyo, a natural shortstop tat is also playing second base and third base, is tearing the cover off the ball in the top level of the minor leagues for the Sacramento River Cats.
In 2016, playing in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League, Arroyo didn’t have a normal season by his standards. He slashed .274/.316/.373, setting full-season career lows in all three categories, and hit just three home runs in 517 plate appearances. Arroyo did finish third in league with 36 doubles and had a very respectable, 13.9 percent strikeout rate, proving that his lack of home run power and overall success was likely more due to the environment than the player.
Arroyo continued to prove his prowess at the plate in Spring Training, a place in which he has had great success already in his young career. This season, he hit .250 but saw his average drop as his playing time also fell as veterans battled for roster spots. He hit a home run and drove in four runs, and put on one of the plate appearances of the spring in the Spring Training finale. After falling behind 0-2 against Oakland Athletics’ pitcher Raul Alcantara, Arroyo battled back, fouling off nine pitches and finally taking ball four on the 15th pitch.
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He was sent to Triple-A Sacramento to open the 2017 season, and the 89th-overall prospect (according to MLB.com) has put the down 2016 season behind him. He struck out in his first at-bat at the level, an at-bat that doesn’t actually count yet because the game was postponed later in the night and still needs to be finished, but he’s been on an upward trajectory since. In his first seven official Triple-A games, Arroyo has collected 11 hits in 27 at-bats, putting up a blazing hot .407 average.
He’s tallied three doubles and five RBI, and on Thursday, he hit his first Triple-A home run, stroking a Greg Mahle delivery out of center field at Smith’s Park for a three-run shot in the eighth inning.
Though Arroyo has been pegged as the team’s third baseman of the future, he has moved all around the infield so far in the young Triple-A season. That’s been the case for many of the team’s players, including Jae-gyun Hwang and Kelby Tomlinson, as the team tries to add some versatility to their résumés.
If Arroyo keeps this kind of pace up, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in the big leagues sooner rather than later. It’s also important to remember that Arroyo is not yet even 22 years old, and won’t hit that age until May 30th this year. He hasn’t yet faced a pitcher younger than he is, which probably won’t change soon as Arroyo is the eighth-youngest player in the Pacific Coast League.
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The 2013 first-round pick is knocking on the door, and his teammate, fellow top Giants’ prospect and 2014 first-round pick Tyler Beede, isn’t far from the big leagues either. The next generation of young stars is coming, and it won’t be long before they’re both making their debuts.