SF Giants recall LHP Kyle Harrison, place RHP Alex Cobb on 15-day IL

The SF Giants recalled top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison from Triple-A on Wednesday after they placed Alex Cobb on the 15-day injured list.

Marc Delucchi | Sep 20, 2023

SF Giants recall LHP Kyle Harrison, place RHP Alex Cobb on 15-day IL /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants recalled left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison (Giants Top Pitching Prospect) from Triple-A Sacramento. Harrison replaced veteran starter Alex Cobb who was placed on the 15-day injured list with a hip impingement. With fewer than 15 days remaining in the regular season, the roster move effectively ends Cobb's season unless the Giants make an unlikely late-season surge into the postseason.

SF Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb throws a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Oracle Park on September 11, 2023. — SF Giants SP Alex Cobb pitches against the Guardians at Oracle Park. (2023) / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Cobb has been pitching through hip pain throughout the second half of the season, but had to be removed from his start on Tuesday during the third inning. Prior to the injury, the 12-year MLB veteran was ranked among the best pitchers in the league in many categories. His excellent first half earned Cobb his first-career All-Star selection. However, after throwing more than 130 pitches in a near no-hitter earlier this month, Cobb was seemingly never able to recover. Overall, he finished the season with a 3.87 ERA across 151.1 innings pitched (28 starts) with 131 strikeouts and 37 walks.

While Cobb's injury removes the second-best starter on the team from the rotation, fans will be excited to see Harrison back in the majors. The Giants have had a confusing development plan for Harrison this season, with extreme limitations on his usage before a significant spike after he received his first big-league call up.

During that MLB stint, Harrison recorded a 5.18 ERA in five starts with 29 strikeouts, eight walks, and seven home runs allowed in 24.1 innings pitched. Despite his struggles with consistency, Harrison showed off his elite potential in a historic Oracle Park debut and flashed one of the best fastballs in professional baseball. At Triple-A, the 22-year old Harrison has a 4.66 ERA this year with 105 strikeouts and 48 walks in 65.2 innings pitched.

It sure seems like the SF Giants have finally wasted too many opportunities to claw their way into the playoffs. If that's the case, the entire focus of the organization will begin to shift to 2024 and beyond. Shutting down Alex Cobb for the regular season and clearing the runway for Kyle Harrison is absolutely a step in that direction.

Published Sep 20, 2023

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).