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SF Giants pitching prospects throw a combined no-hitter at High-A Eugene

A quartet of SF Giants pitching prospects racked up 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning no-hitter with the Eugene Emeralds on Tuesday night.

Marc Delucchi

SF Giants pitching prospects throw a combined no-hitter at High-A Eugene
SF Giants pitching prospects throw a combined no-hitter at High-A Eugene /
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A quartet of SF Giants pitching prospects teamed up in a historic performance on Tuesday night. Right-handed pitchers Hayden Birdsong, Mat Olsen, William Kempner, and Sam Delaplane combined to throw a nine-inning no-hitter with the Eugene Emeralds-the Giants' High-A affiliate-in a 3-0 victory over the Tri-City Dust Devils. It was the first Emeralds no-hitter since they became a Giants affiliate in 2021.

Birdsong got things started with an excellent outing. He only needed 72 pitches to rack up 11 strikeouts across five innings of work with just one walk. The Giants drafted Birdsong in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and he has been one of the most impressive members of the team's class. Birdsong dominated at Single-A San Jose to start the season and was recently promoted to High-A. Between both levels, Birdsong has a 2.91 ERA with 92 strikeouts and 28 walks in 58.2 innings pitched. In Giants Baseball Insider's midseason farm system update, Birdsong ranked as the 26th and 32nd-best prospect in the organization by two respective lists.

Olsen replaced Birdsong to start the sixth inning and found a way to be even more dominant than the Emeralds' starter. Olsen struck out five of the six batters he faced in two perfect innings of work. The Giants drafted Olsen in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Central Arizona College. Olsen has spent the entire season at High-A, racking up 50 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched (24 appearances) with a 3.90 ERA.

Kempner kept Olsen's trend of perfect innings going, striking out two in a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Kempner, the Giants' third-round pick last year, struggled with consistency early this season as a starter at Single-A but has been dominant since he was moved to the bullpen full-time. In 10 outings since the start of June, Kempner has only allowed two earned runs in 10 innings with 14 strikeouts and four walks.

Finally, just three outs away from the historic achievement, Emeralds manager Carlos Valderrama turned to the most experienced member of his pitching staff, Sam Delaplane. Delaplane loaded the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch but induced a game-ending 1-2-3 double play to escape the jam without allowing a hit or a run and recorded his first save of the season.

Acquired off waivers from the Seattle Mariners in 2021, Delaplane has one of the most devastating sliders in the Giants organization but has struggled to regain his command after a pair of elbow surgeries. This season, Delaplane has a 3.71 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 20 walks in 17 innings pitched between Rookie League and High-A.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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