If Guzman Fails, Giants Will Need Bowker

The Giants have indeed called up Jesus Guzman to try to solve their problem of no offensive production out of the 1B slot. 

I hope the Giants give him a real opportunity to show what he can do.  I hope Guzman’s lousy defense doesn’t kill his chance to show that he can hit major league pitching.

Once Guzman has had enough AB’s to determine whether he’s good enough to stick around, if he isn’t, the Giants should try John Bowker again. He currently has an .885 OPS at AAA Fresno. 

What’s strange about his numbers this year is that he has hit for little power, but has 27 walks in only 119 AB’s. This is the opposite of what you would expect based on his past performance. 

Before 2009, his personal high for walks was 41 in 522 at AA Connecticut in 2007.  Last year, in 419 ABs, mostly at the major league level, he had only 26 walks. 

Especially since he isn’t hitting a bunch of HRs, his BB numbers this year must be a fluke. Nevertheless, you can’t punish a guy for playing well, and he should get the call up if Guzman can’t do it for the Giants.