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San Francisco Giants Call Up Top Pitching Prospect Carson Whisenhunt
San Francisco Giants Call Up Top Pitching Prospect Carson Whisenhunt

Forbes

time2 days ago

  • Sport
  • Forbes

San Francisco Giants Call Up Top Pitching Prospect Carson Whisenhunt

Carson Whisenhunt has not had the smoothest path to making his anticipated MLB debut tonight for the San Francisco Giants against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Through it all, the 24-year-old left-hander and the Giants have remained confident in his ability. That's despite being suspended for his junior year at East Carolina, sidelined with Covid-19, a lofty 5.17 earned run average in the minors in 2024 and giving up more hits than innings pitched this year at Triple-A Sacramento. 'We've been waiting for this for a little bit now,' Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters Sunday. 'We thought maybe he'd be here last year, too. He's our top pitching prospect, I believe. There's a need for it. It'll be exciting to see him pitch.' SCOTTSDALE, AZ: Carson Whisenhunt of the San Francisco Giants pitches in a spring training Spring ... More Breakout game against the Texas Rangers at Scottsdale Stadium on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images) Whisenhunt got a $1,866,220 signing bonus as the Giants' second-round pick in 2022, No. 66 overall. That was three picks behind current Milwaukee Brewers rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski. Only 16 of the 65 players picked ahead of Whisenhunt have made it to MLB thus far. Whisenhunt admitted taking a performance-enhancing drug that he claims he did not know was on the NCAA's banned list. "Over the winter break, I took supplements I purchased at a nationwide nutrition store that resulted in a positive test," Whisenhunt said then. "Unfortunately, under NCAA rules I'm not allowed to participate in the 2022 college baseball season. I'm disappointed I won't be able to play this season and sincerely apologize to my teammates, coaches, family, friends and fans. 'I am grateful to ECU and my coaches for their confidence in me to continue to pursue my degree. I hope to return to the East Carolina baseball team for the 2023 season.' Instead, he started his pro career in the Giants' system. His progress was delayed a bit as he contracted Covid-19. Moving Up Whisenhunt turned heads in 2023, pitching well across three levels. In 16 starts overall, he had a 2.45 ERA, 83 strikeouts over 58 2/3 innings and allowed 37 hits. ATLANTA: Carson Whisenhunt of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch in the seventh inning of the ... More 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park on July 12, 2025. (Photo by) He has continued to move up, though not with as much overwhelming success. In 2024, he had a lofty 5.42 ERA and 3-5 record at Sacramento – but did fan 135 over 104 innings. This year, he has an 8-5 mark and 4.15 ERA. The lefty is listed as San Francisco's top pitching prospect and No. 3 overall in the farm system by MLB Pipeline. He retired the only two men he faced in the recent 2025 All-Star Futures Game. He is one of many good young pitchers in the system, including Hayden Birdsong, Kyle Harrison and Reggie Crawford. Changing Up The changeup has always been Whisenhunt's best pitch. When thrown from the same motion and arm slot as his 93-mph fastball, he gets plenty of swing-and-miss along with weak ground balls. His third pitch is a mid-80s slider with good downward movement. Commanding all three pitches is important. He does not blow away batters with an elite fastball. In 273 2/3 innings as a pro, Whisenhunt has walked 108. That's an average of 3.6 per nine innings, too high to consistently succeed. He has cut it to 2.6 per nine this year. Whisenhunt believes he has progressed, yet understands there is still work to be done. 'The changeup is still very consistent with where it needs to be, and the sinker has been a lot better this year,' he told Brian Pitts of the Davie County Enterprise Record earlier this month. 'Last year I struggled a little bit finding the zone (with the sinker) and worked on some different stuff with it. But this year I am trying not to overthink it. 'The slider is a completely different pitch than what it was last year. Last year I started messing around with it, trying to get comfortable with a grip. Coming into the offseason before this year, it was: 'Hey, let's sit down and find a grip that is comfortable, work on getting in the zone and using it as a put-away if I need to.' 'I have tweaked the grip a couple times, and now I feel really confident in that pitch. I trust it with lefties and righties. It's honestly opened a lot of different avenues for me to not use the changeup as much and save it for later in counts. Same thing with the curveball. I can use (the slider) early or late in counts against righties or lefties if I need to and not have to use the changeup as much or the heater. It has worked really well because I have a bunch of different options now.' Pirates To Pirates There's a bit of odd synergy to Whisenhunt's debut as he will be facing the Pirates – the same nickname as his collegiate club. He will be the 22nd MLB player from the East Carolina program. NEW YORK: Chris Heston of the San Francisco Giants celebrates his no hitter with catcher Buster ... More Posey (now the Giants' general manager). It came against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 9, 2015. (Photo by) Four of his college teammates have made an impact in the big leagues., most notably Alex Burleson of the St. Louis Cardinals. Others are Miami Marlins infielder Connor Norby and pitchers Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Indians and Zach Agnos of the Colorado Rockies. East Carolina alum Chris Heston made quite an impact with the Giants as a rookie in 2025, p[itching a no-hitter and compiling a 12-11 record. Where Whisenhunt Fits In He is taking the rotation spot of Landen Roupp, who went on the 15-day injured list last week with right elbow inflammation. Veterans Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander along with fellow rookie lefty Kyle Harrison hold the other spots. SCOTTSDALE, AZ: Kyle Harrison of the San Francisco Giants pitches in a spring training game against ... More the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium on March 1, 2023. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) There is no secret the Giants are seeking to add another reliable starter and solid hitter as they try to secure a playoff spot. San Francisco, 54-52, is seven games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, but only three games out in the race for a wild-card berth. Whisenhunt's performance tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates should help the Giants decide what to do by the trading deadline this Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. It may even spark interest from another club willing to deal a battle-tested veteran to San Francisco. All eyes in many MLB organizations will be on the 6-3, 215-pound pitcher. Perhaps Giants manager Bob Melvin sees enough to believe Whisenhunt can remain when Roupp returns. That could shift the team's interest into dealing a pitcher for more offense. Or even trading a young pitcher or two for another rotation veteran. The San Francisco Giants obviously want Carson Whisenhunt to succeed tonight and in the future, preferably in the team's orange and black colors. It has been a bit of a hopscotch road to this point – with a few hops likely to pop up in the future.

Giants to promote pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt for debut Monday vs. Pirates
Giants to promote pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt for debut Monday vs. Pirates

New York Times

time2 days ago

  • Sport
  • New York Times

Giants to promote pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt for debut Monday vs. Pirates

SAN FRANCISCO — With their rotation in a bind and the losses beginning to pile up, the San Francisco Giants will seek a boost from their top pitching prospect on Monday. The team will promote left-hander Carson Whisenhunt from Triple-A Sacramento to make his major-league debut with a home start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Advertisement 'We've been waiting for this for a little bit now,' Giants manager Bob Melvin said following the Giants' 5-3 loss on Sunday that capped the New York Mets' three-game sweep. 'We thought maybe he'd be here last year, too. With what's gone on here … there's a need for it. It'll be exciting to see him pitch.' What's gone on will have to change quickly for the Giants to stay in the National League playoff picture. They've lost nine of 11, and their rotation is down to three healthy and established pitchers — All-Star right-hander Logan Webb, All-Star left-hander Robbie Ray and 42-year-old right-hander Justin Verlander — after right-hander Landen Roupp was placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation and erratic right-hander Hayden Birdsong LaLooshed himself to Triple-A Sacramento. So the Giants will turn to Whisenhunt, a fringe top-100 prospect who was widely considered the best collegiate left-hander in his 2022 MLB Draft class before a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance resulted in a suspension that caused him to miss his junior season at East Carolina University. The Giants thought they got a steal when they selected Whisenhunt in the second round, and although he didn't post overpowering numbers in the upper minors, his changeup consistently grades out as a plus major-league pitch. Whisenhunt, 24, compiled a 4.42 ERA in 18 starts while spending his second season in the Pacific Coast League, which tends to warp most pitching statistics. His progress could be measured in a walk rate (2.6 per nine innings) that he nearly halved from the previous year. He's also striking out fewer batters, though (7.9 per nine innings, down from 11.6 in 2024). The Giants won't expect Whisenhunt to dominate. They'll be happy to receive five or six competitive innings one day after relying on a bullpen game against the Mets. Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, a fellow North Carolina native, said he's confident Whisenhunt will have what it takes to compete. Advertisement 'I'm very excited for him,' Bailey said. 'Awesome dude, awesome player. I think he'll be ready. He's got really good stuff. Obviously, he's got the plus-plus changeup, and I hear the fastball command is getting better and he's throwing some different breaking balls. It's well deserved.' The Giants could air a Carson special Monday night. They didn't use Whisenhunt's former Sacramento rotation mate, right-hander Carson Seymour, in Sunday's bullpen game. So he'd be available to back up Whisenhunt. 'It just depends on how efficient he is,' Melvin said. The bullpen game — which included two home runs off right-hander Randy Rodríguez after he'd allowed just one in his first 43 appearances — wasn't the reason the Giants dropped their series finale against the Mets. The Giants didn't get any offensive production outside of two home runs from third baseman Matt Chapman and, continuing a cruel theme, went hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position. Mets closer Edwin Diaz struck out Willy Adames and Chapman to strand the bases loaded in the ninth, concluding a series in which the Giants went 0-for-23 with runners in scoring position. According to research by NBC Sports Bay Area, it was the first time since 1931 that the Giants played a series in which they had at least 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position and failed to get a hit in any of them. The tragicomic detail: They would've been credited with one in the third inning Sunday when Adames failed to check his swing and sent a roller up the third-base line. But Heliot Ramos' base-running foibles continued. He got hung up between second and third, and Mets third baseman Ronny Mauricio tagged him to complete a fielder's choice. Of course, there isn't much Whisenhunt can do to alleviate the Giants' most persistent problem this season. The best he can do is keep the team in the game. He's coming off a shortened outing last Sunday against Oklahoma City in which he threw 68 pitches while allowing a run in 3 2/3 innings, but he had an earlier run of four consecutive seven-inning starts and twice earned PCL pitcher of the week honors. On July 12, Whisenhunt represented the Giants in the All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta and retired both batters he faced. Advertisement The Giants must make space on the 40-man and active roster for Whisenhunt, who was scratched from his start for Sacramento on Saturday night and added to the major-league taxi squad. After Sunday's game, there was a locker in the Giants clubhouse with a No. 88 jersey hanging in it. A duffel bag and a pair of dimpled, ostrich leather boots signified Whisenhunt's arrival. Roupp, another fellow North Carolina native who brings a strong boot game to the clubhouse, has competition now. 'I've seen him since we competed against each other in college,' Roupp said. 'I'm excited. I think it's past due. He's been throwing pretty well this year and threw well last year. 'Everybody knows his changeup is really good, but the other pitches are coming around, too.' The Giants need their offense to come around if they hope to remain relevant in September and beyond. But they also need to stabilize a pitching staff that has thrown the most bullpen innings of any team since the All-Star break. Chapman said he has no doubt that club president Buster Posey will remain an active buyer as Thursday's trade deadline approaches. 'It sucks to lose 9 of 11 and slip out of the standings a little bit, but we're still right there,' Chapman said. 'We'll play a lot of the teams that are right in front of us and right in the thick of it with us. Buster has made it clear: We go out and get Rafi (Rafael Devers), and it makes sense to continue to try to improve this team for this year and the foreseeable future. So I think we expect to add and to continue to get better and to continue to make a push to make the playoffs.'

Giants top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt set for MLB debut vs. Pirates
Giants top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt set for MLB debut vs. Pirates

Yahoo

time3 days ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Giants top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt set for MLB debut vs. Pirates

Giants top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt set for MLB debut vs. Pirates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area SAN FRANCISCO — When Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour and Carson Ragsdale were all in the same Triple-A rotation, they invented a little game. The three often would walk around the ballpark together, and if a fan yelled out 'Carson' the first one to turn around would have to go and sign autographs. 'Usually it's Whis,' Seymour explained. 'They want his signature.' Whisenhunt, the organization's top pitching prospect, will now be hearing those fans at Oracle Park. Manager Bob Melvin announced Sunday that Whisenhunt will start Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It'll be the MLB debut for the 2022 second-round pick, and it'll come in place of Landen Roupp, who went on the IL on Friday. 'We've been waiting for this for a little bit now,' Melvin said. 'We thought maybe he would be here last year, too. He's our top pitching prospect, I believe. With what's gone on here with the injury and (Hayden Birdsong) going down (to Triple-A), there's a need for it. It'll be exciting to see him pitch.' Whisenhunt, 23, has a 4.42 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His strikeout rate is down, but he has done a better job of staying in the strike zone and has limited homers. He'll attack the Pirates on Monday with a changeup that is one of the best in the minor leagues and has long been ready for big league hitters. 'It's a legit changeup, for sure,' Seymour said. 'The fastball is good. The sequencing is great.' Seymour was the first of the three Carsons to reach the big leagues, and he hoped to face the New York Mets this weekend since they traded him away a few years ago. Instead, he is likely to back up Whisenhunt on Monday, and he said he's eager to get that shot. Whisenhunt threw seven innings in four consecutive starts earlier this season, but he has not completed six innings in about six weeks. He threw 3 2/3 innings last Sunday, allowing only one run and striking out four. The Giants used seven relievers on Sunday, but they currently are carrying 10. To add Whisenhunt, who will wear No. 88, they'll need to make moves to the active and 40-man rosters, but they should still have plenty of depth behind their young lefty on Monday. They're currently carrying four pitchers who can qualify as long relief types. 'It just depends on how efficient he is,' Melvin said of Whisenhunt. 'We'd like him to be able to get maybe a little bit deeper into the game than he (did) last time. We do still have some length arms down there to be able to help out, but it just depends on how efficient he is.' Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

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