PHILADELPHIA -- With the activation of outfielder Hunter Pence on Sunday, Giants No. 2 prospectChristian Arroyo's first stint as a Major Leaguer came to a close after 34 games.
Pence arrived in Philadelphia after midnight Sunday morning and was not in the lineup for the series finale against the Phillies, however, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Pence will start on Monday. The 34-year-old outfielder had been sidelined since May 12 with a left hamstring injury.
For Arroyo, who hit his way to the big leagues with a hot debut at Triple-A Sacramento, he's now played more than twice as many games at the Major League level than at Triple-A.
"We don't need this 22-year-old kid sitting, he needs to be playing everyday," Bochy said.
Although no one wants to be pulled into the manager's office as Arroyo was Sunday afternoon, he looks forward to seeing his name in the everyday lineup in Sacramento.
"I'm looking forward to getting back, playing every day and getting back to doing what I need to do," Arroyo said. "I think I just got to get back to doing what I do and working on my patience."
Plate discipline is one of the biggest concerns with Arroyo's game. Despite hitting .446 in 16 games at Sacramento before his callup, Arroyo walked only twice. In his 135 Major League plate appearances, he had eight walks -- good for only 6 percent of his trips to the plate.
"One area that's going to help him is show a little more discipline, not expanding the zone and take his walks," Bochy said. "He's an aggressive hitter and you want to tone it down to a point. You don't want him to lose his aggressiveness. ... That's part of his offense that he does need to work on and that's going to come with more at-bats. He's still young."
Arroyo started hot with the Giants, hitting .278 with a .444 slugging percentage in his first 36 at-bats across nine games. But his pace has slowed since hitting .157 in his last 25 games. When his pace slowed, he expanded the zone.
"Especially when I started scuffling a little bit, [I] started getting a little swing-happy and put a little bit of pressure on myself, which I didn't really need to," Arroyo said.
On his trip back to San Francisco before he rejoins the Sacramento River Cats, Arroyo will bring with him experience beyond his years. He produced early as a Giant, and even though tougher offensive days loomed after, he remained upbeat.
"He was a shot in the arm he came up here. Got some big hits, home runs for us," Bochy said. "Loved his defense and how he handled the tough days, the 0-fers. When he did have them, he still played a solid defense for us wherever we put him at third or short or even second. I think this is a great experience for him."
"For me, it was good to get here and be exposed to the best arms in the game and understand what it takes to be consistent up here and what it takes to be a Major Leaguer," Arroyo said.