Remember when this happened?

Yeah, so do I, it was great. That, for those that don’t know, is Brandon Belt launching a 90 mph fastball from the Dodgers’ Chad Billingsly over the center field fence at Dodger Stadium.

I bring this up because over the last few days all I’ve been hearing from the Belt haters on Twitter is that he can’t hit the fastball. The bat is too slow, he wraps his shoulder too much, he can’t handle quality velocity and maybe never will. This got me thinking, could it be true? Could it be that against minor league pitching he was able to generate power but only because he hit softer fastballs and off-speed pitches?

In order to find out, I went back into the archives and watched all nine of the homeruns Belt hit during his rookie campaign last year. Below is a list of those homeruns, who they were hit off of, what kind of pitch it was, where it was in the strike zone, and where the ball ended up. *Pitch data courtesy of PitchF/X*

April 1, 2011 – Chad Billingsly – 90 mph fastball (outer half) – center field July 19, 2011 – Rubby de la Rosa – 91 mph cutter (down & in) – right field line August 14 – Chris Volstad – 92 mph fastball (outer half) – left center August 14 – Mike Dunn (LH) – 88 mph cutter (inner half) – right field August 21 – Henry Sosa – 95 mph fastball (down & in) – right field September 15 – Matt Reynolds (LH) – 91 mph fastball (down) – left center September 16 – Alex White – 85 mph slider (middle) – right center September 18 – Esmil Rogers – 94 mph fastball (outer half) – left field September 27 – Alex White – 93 mph fastball (inner half) – splash hit

Looking at that list I notice a few things. First, despite what you may have heard from the narrative both the Giants staff and the local media in San Francisco are trying to spin, Belt has the ability to catch up to a good fastball. Second, he can also hit left-handed pitchers, something I discussed in my first post on FBB. And third, he has legit power to all fields, which was never more evident than in his first career homerun off Billingsly, at night and in a ballpark where the ball simply does not fly at night.

So why is it then that it appears to the naked eye that Belt suddenly cannot get around on even average velocity like the 90-92 he was getting from Arizona’s Ian Kennedy Wednesday night? Well here’s where I get play amateur hitting coach, but remember, this is simply my opinion and I am certainly no expert when it comes to proper hitting mechanics.

Here’s what I see. The Giants coaching staff has convinced Belt that he has a hard time reaching the ball on the inner half, especially if it’s a fastball. This has led to the belief that he would be better served with an open stance so he can react quicker to the inside pitch. With that thought in his head he is now struggling to reach the ball on the outer half as he is so conscious of trying to spin on anything middle-in. So what was once a strength of his (power to all fields) is now a weakness thanks to a modified approach at the plate. And if you watched the game on Wednesday you saw Belt get beat repeatedly on the outer half with fastballs.

On top of that he is clearly under tremendous pressure from the fans, the media and the coaching staff to be a prototypical, power-hitting first baseman. That pressure has clearly affected him at the plate as he is swinging at the first pitch more often than he ever has in his professional career. Essentially he is trying to be something he is not and as a result he is not taking full advantage of the skills he’s shown in the past.

In my opinion he needs to get back to being the patient hitter he always has been (.457 career minor league OBP) and let the power come naturally. If there’s one thing I do know for sure when it comes to hitting, it’s that trying to force it and hit homeruns is one of the most counterproductive things a hitter can do.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the skills are there for Belt to be a highly productive hitter in the big leagues. Whether that means 25+ homeruns per season, I’m not sure, but the sooner he can get back to the approach that works best for him the sooner we’ll be able to see exactly what the kid is made of.

In the meantime, head on over to one of my favorite blogs, Bay City Ball and check out the piece they did discussing Belt’s swing and his approach at the plate. Also, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think about Belt or any other Giants-related issues.