The hype surrounding Giants 2013 first-round pick Christian Arroyo is growing by the day.
In early December, Baseball America rated the 20-year-old as the Giants' No. 1 prospect in their system entering the 2016 season.
On Tuesday, the Giants invited the shortstop to big league camp, and on Friday, MLB.com ranked him as the No. 82 prospect in the minor leagues, the only Giant to make the list.
Arroyo has plenty of fans, and one of them is Giants' play-by-play announcer Duane Kuiper.
Appearing on the Murph & Mac show on KNBR 680 on Thursday, Kuiper was asked about the Giants' non-roster invites and brought up the Tampa-native Arroyo.
“I’ve seen a little bit of him last year, but by all reports after the Arizona Fall League, he’s going to be really good. So, it’ll be interesting to see where the Giants try to place him position-wise, given the infield positioning is so young. So maybe they’ll stick him in the outfield, take some flyballs. Because if you can hit, you’re going to find a place to play," Kuiper said.
During the aforementioned 2015 Arizona Fall League, the annual gathering of the top prospects in baseball, Arroyo hit .308/.360/.448 with three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI in 19 games.
That performance came after he hit .304/.344/.459 with 28 doubles, nine home runs and 42 RBI in 90 games for High-A San Jose in 2015.
As Kuiper alluded to, Arroyo may have to learn a new position due to Gold Glover and Silver Slugger Brandon Crawford's presence at shortstop on the big league club.
During the Winter Meetings in December, Giants vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean addressed a potential position change for Arroyo.
“We’re all marveling at how fast the bat is coming,” he said. “Now, will he be a shortstop? I don’t think so. Is he going to be a second baseman or third baseman? We have to flush that out. But this guy is a legitimate bat.”
