San Francisco Giants 2016 Season Grades: Infielders and Catchers

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Sep 30, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (9) hits a three run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

1B. San Francisco Giants. BRANDON BELT. A.

Brandon Belt had his best season as a pro, and it wasn’t even close. While his average took a HUGE dip in the second half, Belt still reached base at nearly the same rate (.400 OBP/.370OBP). He lead the team in 2B, HR, SLG, OBP, OPS, and BB. His wRC+ for 2016 was 138, good for 13th in all of baseball, and 6th in the NL. Not only was Belt great at creating runs, his defense was outstanding.

Defense for first-basemen can sometimes get overlooked, and Brandon Belt has been overlooked as a defensive first-baseman. He had 8 errors, in 1300+ innings this season. Despite that, he had the second highest Range Factor in the NL this year.

Belt also had the second highest WAR on the team this year. Yes, it was higher than Buster Posey’s. Going into the 2016 season, if we told you Belt would have a higher WAR than Posey, you most likely would’ve laughed at us. Well, it happened. And for that, Belt gets a well deserved A.