SF Giants need to call up hot-hitting young outfielder immediately

The SF Giants sent down outfielder Luis Matos after he had several weeks of struggles at the plate. Right now, he is tearing it up in Triple-A and the team absolutely must call him back up to the majors as soon as possible.

SF Giants need to call up hot-hitting young outfielder immediately

It was not that long ago that Luis Matos was the National League's Player of the Week. He was absolutely tearing the cover off the ball and injected a life and energy into the lineup that had been missing all year.

Then, he slumped hard for a few weeks. The bat went cold, and it led to the Giants sending him down to Triple-A and bringing back Austin Slater since he was healthy again. This was a controversial decision amongst the fanbase to say the least. Slater had struggled hard to start the year, so this was an understandable response.

Matos has taken his demotion in stride though, and he is currently doing everything in his power to earn his way back onto the big-league club. He just won the Pacific Coast League (PCL) Player of the Week honor after he hit 5 home runs and drove in 13 runs in a single week.

Matos seems to be a very streaky hitter. He started off in Triple-A red hot to start the year and then cooled off quite a bit. But once he was called up due to injuries on the big-league club he got hot again but then cooled off and now he is raking in Triple-A. The Giants should be okay with the streaky nature of his hitting. Sure, he may not be the most consistent, but if he is on a tear at the plate he can carry an offense for a week or two.

Some may argue against calling Matos up because there is not an open roster spot. The Giants should not send down Slater as some may want, instead they should demote Trenton Brooks. The Giants called Brooks up after the injury to LaMonte Wade Jr. which makes sense because Brooks is a left-handed hitting first baseman as well.

However, in watching him the last few weeks it is clear that he is simply out of his element at the big-league level. He only has three hits in 21 at-bats, and in last night's contest against the Chicago Cubs he made three mental errors. Two separate times he was not ready to hit and in the box in the proper amount of time which led to him being charged an automatic strike. Then, he failed to take charge and call for the ball on a simple pop up in the infield and seemed to just hope that Thairo Estrada would bail him out and catch it. Thankfully, Estrada eventually did bail him out with his clutch 3-run homer in the 9th. These are rookie mistakes from Brooks that thankfully did not cost the team the game, but they are inexcusable at this level.

Demoting Brooks would slightly limit the team's options at first base, but not greatly. Wilmer Flores should be getting the lion's share of work at first, and on days he needs off the Giants can put the super-versatile Brett Wisely there. Sure, having a 5'9 first baseman is not the most ideal scenario, but neither is relying on one who struggles to handle routine pop ups.

Simply put, the Giants cannot afford to leave Matos in the minors any longer. He is hitting too good to deny and there is a clear candidate for demotion. The Giants need to make this move immediately.