San Francisco Giants: Christian Arroyo Makes an Impressive Defensive Debut
Following his strong Spring Training and with endless potential, Christian Arroyo made his major league debut for the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
As a part of a number of roster changes, the San Francisco Giants called up promising prospect Christian Arroyo to make his major league debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 24. The No. 84 prospect in baseball (per MLB.com) played third base and batted sixth in the Giants' 2-1 win over the Dodgers.
Welcome to the big leagues, Christian Arroyo! #Homegrown | #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/4K6uueZSDC
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 24, 2017
In his first major league at bat, Arroyo saw three pitches before softly grounding out to second baseman Chase Utley. He went on to do the same in his next two at bats and finished the game 0-3.
Yet he made a number of stunning plays at the hot corner, including a barehanded play on a ball that bounced off starting pitcher Matt Cain.
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Rookie on the Rise
Arroyo got the call to the majors on Monday after starting the season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. He recorded a .446/.478/.692 slash line with three homers and 12 RBI in 16 games.
Prior to that, the Giants selected Arroyo 25th overall in 2013 from Hernando High School. He made a name for himself as Team USA's starting shortstop on the 18-and-under squad in 2012, where he hit .341 to eventually win the gold medal. After becoming the 2013 MVP with the AZL Giants, he spent a season in both Single-A and Double-A.
Despite his unteachable instincts and impressive range, he ran into a wall called Brandon Crawford at shortstop. Nonetheless, Arroyo quickly adjusted to third base, playing 48 games at the hot corner last season.
Along with Arroyo, Drew Stubbs made his Giants debut in center field. Consequently, the Giants designated Chris Marrero for assignment and placed Aaron Hill on the disabled list with a forearm strain to make room for their newcomers on the roster. With Arroyo at third, Eduardo Nunez moved to left field, where he has now played just 18 games in his career.
