SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants infielder Christian Arroyo, the club's top Minor League prospect, will be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season with a broken left hand, general manager Bobby Evans said Thursday.
Evans made the announcement on the "Murph and Mac" show on KNBR-AM (680), the Giants' flagship radio station.
Arroyo, ranked as the No. 64 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com, was hit on his left hand by a pitch from Triple-A Fresno's Dean Deetz on July 30. The injury required surgery to repair. Before that, Arroyo was idled for more than a month with a right wrist ailment.
Evans said that the Giants will try to jump-start Arroyo's development by finding playing time for him in winter ball or the Arizona Fall League.
Calling Arroyo's inactivity a "small" setback, Giants manager Bruce Bochy observed that the 22-year-old benefited from his exposure to the big leagues.
"The fact that he has gotten some time up here, that's invaluable experience for that kid as he goes into the offseason," Bochy said. "He'll have some knowledge of what it takes to play up here."
Arroyo, the Giants' top Draft choice (25th overall) in 2013, made his big league debut with San Francisco on April 24 after he hit .446 with Triple-A Sacramento. He showed flashes of brilliance with the Giants, but he hit just .192/.244/.304 in 34 games, prompting his return to the Minors.
With the Giants, Arroyo started 21 games at third base, nine at shortstop and two at second base.