SF Giants top prospect Kyle Harrison thinks he 'figured it out' in latest start

SF Giants top prospect Kyle Harrison chatted with Giants Baseball Insider after his dominant start at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.

The SF Giants top prospect Kyle Harrison (full scouting report) had his best performance of the season on Saturday for the Sacramento River Cats. While Harrison struggled mightily in his first two appearances, he had incrementally improved against Triple-A competition before his breakout outing. On Saturday, he was untouchable. He struck out two of the first three batters he faced. Then he struck out the next batter. And the next. And the next. Harrison needed only 50 pitches to breeze through his planned four-inning start, and by the time it was all over, he'd fanned seven of the twelve hitters he faced.

Harrison spoke with Giants Baseball Insider after his mesmerizing one-hit performance about his rapid ascent through the Giants' minor league system and where he goes from here. Part of the reason that he's quickly become one of the top-ranked pitching prospects in the minors is that he understands the value of focused aggression.

"Ultimately, it comes down to throwing strikes," Harrison said. "I think I got the stuff that plays, so I'm gonna keep throwing the way I throw unless hitters and results tell me otherwise... I'm gonna keep attacking the zone and try to replicate what I did tonight."

Which makes sense - when you're playing a game that's won and lost on the margins, and you know your stuff gives you an edge over your opponent, make them beat you first. That's how you average an ERA of under 3.00 and more than a strikeout and a half per inning over your entire professional baseball career. And once you know you have that edge, you can keep pushing and pushing to the point where a single ground ball through the infield is a major victory for the other team. That's the leverage point that Harrison always tries to get himself to.

"It feels good, you know?" Harrison said. "It takes [the pressure] off you to where you honestly don't have to try as hard... when all your stuff is in the zone, now you can start playing and start actually pitching. That's something I've been trying to get to - command was a little bit of an issue - but tonight I figured it out and was able to command both sides of the plate and expand later in counts."

For someone who threw 34 strikes in 50 pitches, command sure didn't seem like it was an issue. But Harrison's had to navigate a tricky situation with minor league baseball's ever-shifting relationship with automatic strike zones, pitch clocks, and other status quo shakeups. For a pitcher whose stuff has always shone through before the control has, that's the final piece to the puzzle to becoming a major league star. Giants fans should be ecstatic to hear that even after such a dominating performance, Harrison knows there's still another level to reach by balancing his aggression with his command.

"You take this start right here, and now you build," Harrison said. "That's what Patty [Giants #21 prospect Patrick Bailey], said to me, 'Now we go.' I got the stuff to do it, and I showed it tonight that I can be in the zone consistently. So that's the bar. Let's live there."

Of course, there's no love lost (in the positive) for his teammates as he claws his way towards the top. Harrison took the time to give shoutouts to fellow prospect Casey Schmitt, a "goofball" who he envies for his natural ability to "figure [baseball] out" and "just pick up a ball and play," as well as teammate Kade McClure, whose dry wit has made him the centerpiece of a few mid-inning video segments on Sutter Health Park's video board. And Harrison made sure to voice his appreciation for the fans that kept the house rocking as he tore through a hapless Las Vegas Aviators lineup.

"Supporting us... means a lot when you fill up those seats out there," Harrison said of the 8,553 fans who came out to see the fireworks. "I can't thank you guys enough."

With more outings like that, Kyle Harrison could very well be pitching in front of five times as many SF Giants fans at Oracle Park before the end of this season. For now, though, the lefty is focused on keeping the positive momentum going in his next start at Triple-A.