Casey Schmitt’s production at the plate has nosedived since his hot start in the major leagues. Now’s the time to show if he should stay there.
With Thairo Estrada out at least until August, Schmitt should get an extended look at second base, with only him and the unproven Brett Wisely as the available reinforcements.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler told Murph & Mac on Friday that Schmitt will get a long look even if he continues to struggle, but an inability to turn things around will determine how long that rope is exactly.
“I don’t really want to call it an audition period, right?” Kapler said on KNBR Friday. “We all believe that Casey Schmitt is going to be a good, long-time big-leaguer and we want to give him as many opportunities to shine as possible. Playing time is always going to be earned. That’s going to be true now, too. We’re not just going to roll people out there for extended periods of time if they’re not producing. This is true for Casey as well.”
If Schmitt’s .228/.268/.323 slash line looks bad, his last month has been even worse. Since June 9, Schmitt has seven hits in his last 64 plate appearances, and has an appalling .377 OPS.
“We want to give him that opportunity,” Kapler concluded. “It can’t be a snapshot or a quick look because that’s not fair and it doesn’t give the guy a chance to develop and grow and he needs playing time to develop and grow. At the same time, we want to win baseball games, so we’ll do what’s best for the Giants.”
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