San Francisco Giants: Ty Blach, not Christian Arroyo has been the best Rookie

The San Francisco Giants have benefitted from the significant impact of two rookies. One’s impact has been greater, but it’s not who you think it would be.

When the San Francisco Giants called up Christian Arroyo, the Giants were dead in the water. He provided three homers really quick, but his offensive contributions died down a bit. His defense has been great, which might be good enough to keep him on the roster. Despite Arroyo’s clutch hits, against the Mets and the Cardinals, he hasn’t had the biggest rookie impact on the team.

Ty Blach didn’t get a spot in the rotation at the start of the season. The Giants went with Matt Cain instead, and since have been proven to have made the correct choice. However, the unforeseen injury to Madison Bumgarner gave Blach even bigger shoes to fill.

Since he has been called upon to fill Madison Bumgarner’s shoes he’s been pretty darn good. If you subtract that abysmal game in Cincinnati, and including tonight’s stellar outing, this is what his stat-line looks like: 2.13 ERA in 33 IP. He also has a 0.96 WHIP to go along with that awesome stat-line.

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While Christian Arroyo is easily the most talked about prospect, and rightfully so, Blach hasn’t been talked about enough. In light of the circumstances, Blach has been a bigger impact than Arroyo has.

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Blach has provided a constant in the rotation, which is something that is invaluable. The Giants know what they’re going to get when he’s on the mound. Save for that miserable series in Cincinnati (where I think the Giants collectively hit rock-bottom), the rotation has been pretty steady over the last few weeks.

For someone to have to fill shoes the size of Bumgarner’s, and someone without a whole lot of major league experience no less, and perform at the level that Blach has, is impressive. It was exactly what they needed from him, and more. That part is what separates him from Arroyo.

In Arroyo, the Giants needed a good situational hitter, and someone who could play defense. They knew he would struggle. In Blach, the Giants needed a guy to keep the score close and go more than five innings. Blach has now pitched less than 7 innings, twice in his six starts this year, going seven four times. Not only has he eaten up innings, but even with the bad start in Cincy his ERA is under four!

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Blach has a future on the roster. It might be out of long-relief during the immediate future, especially when Bumgarner gets healthy. But there is no doubt Blach has earned his spot for now. And he’s quickly taking over the title of the “biggest impact rookie” in the orange and black.