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MILWAUKEE -- Brandon Crawford has been a fixture on the Giants’ infield for over a decade, but he found himself out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive day in the club’s 15-1 rout of the Brewers at American Family Field on Friday night. 

Manager Gabe Kapler said Crawford’s absence was primarily due to the emergence of rookie Casey Schmitt, who entered Saturday batting .343 with an .851 OPS and two home runs over his first 17 games for the Giants. 

“I think a lot of it has to do with how well Schmitt is playing,” Kapler said. “He’s not the easiest guy to take out of the lineup right now. He’s doing a really nice job at shortstop. He’s having really good at-bats. If you needed to point to one area, that’s probably it.”  

Schmitt, 24, is a natural third baseman, but he’s shown that he has the tools to handle shortstop at the Major League level, allowing the Giants to keep two of their best hitters -- J.D. Davis and Thairo Estrada -- at third and second, respectively. Estrada was also out of the lineup on Friday with a sore left wrist, but the Giants still opted to start another rookie, Brett Wisely, over the struggling Crawford, who is hitting only .172 with a .575 OPS over 29 games this year.

Crawford also hasn’t been playing up to his high standards on defense, as the four-time Gold Glove Award winner committed two errors in Wednesday’s loss against the Twins and has recorded -7 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop this year, according to FanGraphs. 

Kapler said he’s had conversations with Crawford about his playing time, though he praised the 36-year-old veteran for taking younger infielders like Schmitt under his wing in recent weeks. 

“Craw and I have had a couple of chats along the way,” Kapler said. “We’ll continue to stay in touch on things. We’re not going to have a talk every day. It’s one of those things that can become overkill. But we’re in communication and trying to give him a heads up on days that he’s going to play. 

“I think Craw’s doing a really nice job handling the situation. Probably more importantly than anything else, he’s done a great job of mentoring our younger players.”

With Crawford's contract due to expire at the end of the season and the Giants seemingly making a conscious effort to get younger, Schmitt could end up supplanting the three-time All-Star as the club's long-term answer at shortstop.

Despite the potential for awkwardness, the two infielders have formed a quick bond since becoming teammates, with Crawford pulling aside his protégé to share fielding tips in the middle of a game at Chase Field earlier this month. Crawford recently posted a photo of him and Schmitt on his Instagram story, adding Iron Man and Spider-Man emojis to further underscore their mentor-mentee dynamic.  

“He’s been amazing,” Schmitt said recently. “He’s really helped me out, kind of just learning the position and the hitting side and stuff like that. I like to pick his brain a little bit."