SF Giants recall righty Sean Hjelle from Triple-A, Jarlin García placed on Paternity List

The SF Giants recalled young right-handed pitcher Sean Hjelle from Triple-A Sacramento just in time for a bullpen game against the Rockies.

Marc Delucchi | Sep 28, 2022

SF Giants recall righty Sean Hjelle from Triple-A, Jarlin García placed on Paternity List /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants recalled right-handed pitcher Sean Hjelle from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday. To create a spot on the roster for Hjelle, the Giants placed left-handed reliever Jarlin García on the Paternity List. While Hjelle is not expected to make any starts with the Giants over the next few days, San Francisco is expected to use a bullpen game on Wednesday and Hjelle will likely be used in the bulk-innings role.

This season, Hjelle has a 4.92 ERA in 97 innings pitched (22 starts) at Triple-A with 80 strikeouts and 38 walks. He has also made six appearances with the Giants this year and has an 8.44 ERA in 16 innings with 18 strikeouts and five walks. Despite his big-league struggles, Hjelle has been quite effective in two of his three outings in September, with a solid 4+ inning outing against the Rockies and Brewers. Granted, he also allowed six runs in just 1+ inning of work against the Dodgers. He was optioned back to the minors last week to clear a spot for Jharel Cotton.

SF Giants pitcher Sean Hjelle throws a pitch against the Rockies. — Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Hjelle was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 2018 draft. A nearly seven-foot-tall righty out of the University of Kentucky, Hjelle has always relied on a low-90s fastball and curveball as his primary pitches. However, recently, he has begun introducing a cutter into his pitch mix.

Hjelle quickly moved through the minors as a professional, reaching Double-A by the end of 2019. In 2021, Hjelle had a 3.15 ERA in 14 starts at Double-A Richmond with 69 strikeouts in 65.2 innings pitched against just 19 walks before he was promoted to Triple-A. He struggled once reaching the highest level of the minors, though, finishing the year with a 5.74 ERA in 10 starts with Sacramento.

García has been one of San Francisco's most consistent relief pitchers since he was acquired off waivers prior to the 2020 season. Over the past three years, García has a 2.51 ERA across 133 appearances with 136 strikeouts in 150.1 innings pitched. This season, García has a 2.98 ERA in 63.1 innings (56 appearances).

Published Sep 28, 2022

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).