It's Time for the San Francisco Giants to Promote Conner Menez

The San Francisco Giants have a serious pitching problem, and it needs to be addressed right away. The Giants currently sit at 26-36 in the NL West, which is good for dead last in the division.

While the offense has been a huge part of the problem, the rotation hasn't helped things at all, as the Giants have struggled to find consistency through the first half of the season.

Madison Bumgarner has not been the ace he's looked like in previous years, as he has a 4.05 ERA on the year with a 3-5 record. His 3.83 ERA in his last seven starts actually leads the team, with the next lowest belonging to Jeff Samardzija, who sports a 4.08 ERA during that time.

With the Giants failing to find consistency in the rotation this season, it's safe to say that the rebuild will be starting very soon, as president Farhan Zaidi will be looking for a new home for Bumgarner and Samardzija very soon. Once that's done, the Giants absolutely need to promote left-hander Conner Menez.

The Giants are clearly looking to add more Bay Area products to the organization, as they recently drafted top prospect Hunter Bishop, who is from Palo Alto. Menez fits the bill, as he's from Hollister, and should get an audition based on his solid performance this year.

Menez had great success in Double-A, with a 2.72 ERA and 70 strikeouts through 59 and two-thirds innings. He also allowed just 37 hits during that time. Menez has had just two starts at Triple-A, but has had success there too, striking out nine through 11 innings pitched, posting a 3.27 ERA.

One thing that has helped Menez become so successful is his focus on getting off to a favorable count, with his catchers not allowing him to expand the strike zone until he gets to two strikes. This has helped Menez rack up the strikeouts, despite not having velocity that will blow you away. It could wind up helping Menez get to the major league level a whole lot faster, where the rotation is in desperate need of a spark.

Whenever Menez reaches the majors, he'll join prospects Shaun Anderson and Tyler Beede, as they look to create a formidable Giants rotation in the near future. The Giants are clearly going nowhere fast, so maybe it's time to start trading off those assets and get Menez to San Francisco as soon as possible.