SF Giants top two pitching prospects: selected to 2023 MLB Futures Game

SF Giants pitching prospect Kyle Harrison was selected for his second MLB Futures Game alongside Carson Whisenhunt.

MLB has begun announcing rosters for the upcoming MLB Futures Game, and SF Giants left-handed starting pitching prospect Kyle Harrison (Giants preseason #1 prospect) has been selected for the second consecutive year. According to a report by NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic, Carson Whisenhunt (Giants preseason #9 prospect) was selected as well. The Futures Game is an annual event that features the best prospects from around the minor leagues that takes place during the All-Star break. This year's game is scheduled for July 8th at T-Mobile Park, the home ballpark of the Seattle Mariners.

Kyle Harrison and Carson Whisenhunt will represent the Giants at the Futures Game next month.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 26, 2023

Harrison has spent the entire 2023 season at Triple-A Sacramento. He has posted a 4.53 ERA with 82 strikeouts and 39 walks in 49.2 innings pitched (15 games). Whisenhunt, on the other hand, has recorded a 2.90 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 17 walks in 49.2 innings pitched (13 games) across Single-A, High-A, and Double-A.

Harrison struggled in his Futures Game appearance in 2022. Harrison was handed the loss after surrendering four runs on two hits (both home runs) and two walks in 0.2 innings pitched with two strikeouts. Granted, a fielding error by Cardinals prospect Masyn Winn meant only one of the four runs he allowed was earned. Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez and Twins prospect Matt Wallner were the players who homered against him.

Harrison, now 21, emerged as a consensus top-50 prospect in the minor leagues last season after splitting his time between Eugene and Richmond. He recorded 186 strikeouts and only 49 walks in 113 innings with an exceptional 2.71 ERA between High-A and Double-A.

Drafted in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft by the Giants out of De La Salle High School in Concord, California, Harrison passed on attending UCLA in favor of a $2.5 million signing bonus from the Giants. In 2021, Harrison started his pro career at full-season ball, which is rare for a player drafted out of high school. At Single-A, Harrison won the Low-A West Pitcher of the Year Award after leading the league in ERA (3.19) and strikeouts per nine innings (14.3).

Whisenhunt was the Giants' second-round pick in last year's draft out of East Carolina. He was expected to be a first-round pick heading into the year but was suspended for the spring season for failing an NCAA PED test. The Giants felt confident that Whisenhunt's failed test was a result of a tainted supplement and gave him a significantly above-slot signing bonus to forego returning to college. So far, so good.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has noted that the team expects Harrison to slowly make his way upward from a five-inning/75-pitch limit in Sacramento to six-inning/90 pitches over time. Still, Zaidi said last offseason that the SF Giants expect him to make his MLB debut at some point this season.