Giants encouraged by Harrison's progression after intriguing start
SAN FRANCISCO — You never can have too much depth in the starting rotation, and that's a good problem the Giants have right now.
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Two of San Francisco's intriguing, young arms, righty Hayden Birdsong and lefty Kyle Harrison, both are hoping their early 2025 season success eventually leads to rotation spots that don't exist at the current moment.
The 23-year-old Birdsong has been a revelation for the Giants out of the bullpen this season, posting a 1.13 ERA with 18 strikeouts to six walks in 16 innings pitched. Harrison on the other hand, also 23, began the season in Triple-A Sacramento after his slow start to spring training due to offseason shoulder rehab preceded a bout with the flu that led to him losing between 10 and 15 pounds as he began to make strides in camp.
In six starts with the River Cats, Harrison has a 3.46 ERA with 38 strikeouts to eight walks in 26 innings pitched. The numbers are decent, but perhaps the most impressive development has been the velocity he's shown in recent outings, including his start (5 IP, 6 H, ER, 0 BB, 7 Ks) against the Reno Aces on Wednesday where his fastball almost touched 98 mph.
For context, he averaged 92.5 mph on his fastball in 24 starts with the Giants in 2024.
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The uptick in velocity certainly caught many people's attention on Wednesday night, including Giants manager Bob Melvin, who was asked before Thursday's game against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park if the young lefty soon could be an option at the major-league level.
'I think he could be an option at any point in time, but what we have here is what we have,' Melvin said. 'We've played pretty well, we're trying to create an environment of some stability. Now obviously you're going to want to get the best possible complement that you can here. But it's good to see that the velocity is picking up, because for a guy like him that's important. More swings and misses. So it's probably his best performance and we'll see where we go from here.'
While there might not be a path back to the majors for Harrison at this current moment, Melvin is encouraged by his early season development and believes he can provide the pitching staff with key depth throughout the summer.
'Seems like it now,' Melvin said when asked if Harrison is back to where the team wants him physically. 'And even when he started down there, it was more like four, five innings [and April 24 vs. El Paso was six]. It just feels like the stuff is getting better and better. He's trending in the right direction, and that's a good sign for us.'
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Both Harrison and Birdsong will have to wait their turns for their next shot in the rotation, and while the latter might get the first crack, the former should be the next man up afterward should the Giants need it.
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