Brandon Belt's No. 3 slot in the San Francisco Giants' batting order is written in pencil and not ink.

Manager Bruce Bochy told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that Belt, who has batted third each of the past 16 games, could be dropped down if his second-half production doesn't improve.

Belt posted a .302 batting average with four homers in the first half but is hitting just .214 with four homers since the break. Bochy did caution that two things are working in Belt's favor -- he owns a solid .351 OBP since the break and nobody else is currently swinging a hot bat.

The Giants have started 11 players in the No. 3 hole this season, including Hunter Pence, who is hitting just .213 in August.

Belt has batted third a team-high 51 times this season. Second on the list is Matt Duffy, who was traded to Tampa Bay in the deal for Matt Moore.