Gillaspie Drives In Four In 4-5 Performance, Giants Need Him To Shine

Conor Gillaspie was picked up to provide depth in the organization. Following his call up, he has shown how much he has progressed at the plate.

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His signing at the time had to be seen as one similar to that of Gregor Blanco and Joaquin Arias. A hidden gem that other teams cannot take a chance on due to roster limitations.

But the Giants scouting department has to be commended for seeing the value in his bat.

His approach at the plate is similar to a lot of the Giants line up. He tries to have a good at bat every time up, and even with a slow start, he kept that approach.

Today he entered the day as the presumptive starter at third base with Matt Duffy going down with an injury that is supposed to sideline him for around three weeks. His play on the field has already been steady, tonight his bat showed up in a big way.

Gillaspie, a former 1st round pick (37th overall) by the Giants, was not ready for prime time his first go around with the team. His bat looked like it would eventually come around, but his lack of experience against major league pitching put him at a big disadvantage.

He still got a ring in 2012, as he appeared in six games that season. But his true coming out came the following year with the Chicago White Sox when he hit .245 with 13 home runs in 134 games.

He followed that up with a .282, 7 home run year in 130 games with Chicago.

2015 was somewhat of a lost year for Gillaspie, and luckily for the Giants, it made him available at a good price.

Duffy was hitting in some very tough luck this season, and the team is still winning games. If he returns with the same approach he had up to this point, he will be a key asset down the stretch.

In the meantime, if Gillaspie can give the Giants another threat, similar to what Juan Uribe did for the team when he broke out, the need for any big additions in the line up goes down. The team can then focus on other areas of need heading into the trade deadline.

He really needed a game like this to show him that the work he puts in is paying off.

When you have a player like him that understands the culture of the franchise, and knows how good he has it here compared to other teams, you have a player who pulls in the same direction as everyone else.

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He is not necessarily playing for a contract, but more security will come with quality play. Just ask Blanco and Arias.