Brandon Belt not in San Francisco lineup Thursday

San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is not in the Giants starting lineup on Thursday.

What It Means:

It's nothing more than a routine day of rest for Belt against opposing southpaw Chris Rusin. Buster Posey will cover first base while Hector Santiago fills in behind the dish for the Giants.

Belt has a 1.93 nERD, which ranks 32nd among all hitters. He's sporting a .360 wOBA, just shy of his career-best clip of .365. Add that to his Ultimate Zone Rating as the top defensive first basemen, and you have a top-tier player. According to Fangraphs, he ranks fifth among first basemen in Wins Above Replacement at 4.0. We have him as one of the game's top producers the rest of the way, projecting five homers and an .807 OPS.