SF Giants middle infielder surprisingly sees time at first base against Astros

The SF Giants took on the Houston Astros on Tuesday night and it was a bit of a surprise to see infielder Casey Schmitt playing first base. Perhaps this is a position we will see more of him at as the season goes on.

Schmitt entered the game as a pinch hitter for first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. in the 7th inning. He came in to face a left-handed pitcher and then remained in the game defensively at first base.

Up until this point, Schmitt was really only thought of as a guy who could play second base, third base, and shortstop. Now, it seems the Giants are comfortable putting him at any position in the infield.

SF Giants surprisingly play Casey Schmitt at first base

This was Schmitt's first appearance at first base in a major league game. Looking at his Baseball Reference page of all his minor league and college appearances, it appears that this was his first appearance at first base in an actual game in a long time because dating back to his time at San Diego State in 2018 he has no recorded appearances at first base. Maybe an ex-Little League teammate can let us know how he looked digging balls out of the dirt as a 12 year old.

According to Giants beat reporter Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, Schmitt received some work at first in recent days because the Giants have had to get a bit creative with their bench after Jerar Encarnacion went down with an injury.

If Encarnacion was healthy, he would be the obvious option to pinch hit for lefties and remain in the game at first base or a corner outfield spot late in a game. However, the Giants do not have that option at their disposal.

Outside of Wade, the primary option at first base for the team is Wilmer Flores, but with him in the designated hitter spot, the Giants would not be able to move him to first.

If Schmitt is able to play serviceable defense at first, then that gives the team some valuable depth at the position. The team has a very right-handed roster, so they are going to have to be a bit creative especially if manager Bob Melvin chooses to pinch hit late in games.

It is a little surprising that Melvin decided to put Schmitt in the game when one considers the fact that Wade is a solid defender at first base even if he has gotten off to a cold start with the bat. The Giants had the lead at the time of Schmitt being put in the game so one would typically think keeping your best defense in the game would be the main priority over offensive matchups.

However, Schmitt looked pretty good at first in the few opportunities he had. He had a couple of put outs at first so he did not drop the ball and he made a nice play on a pop up in shallow right field and avoided a potential collision with second baseman Christian Koss. It would not come as a huge surprise if Schmitt proved to be adept at first base given the fact that he is a good athlete and has a great set of hands which should make him serviceable pretty much anywhere on the diamond.

We are going to see more of Schmitt at first base as Pavlovic reports that Schmitt is going to be seeing more time at first base going forward. He is going to get the start at first in tomorrow's contest against left-handed starter Framber Valdez, so Schmitt at first base is a sight we are probably going to have to get used to even if it was a bit weird and jarring at first (no pun intended).