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SF Giants prospect Carson Whisenhunt dominates in Arizona Fall League debut

The SF Giants 2022 second-round pick Carson Whisenhunt made his Arizona Fall League debut on Saturday, and had an impressive outing.

Marc Delucchi

SF Giants prospect Carson Whisenhunt dominates in Arizona Fall League debut
SF Giants prospect Carson Whisenhunt dominates in Arizona Fall League debut /
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The SF Giants have to be excited after 2022 second-round pick Carson Whisenhunt made his Arizona Fall League debut on Saturday. The 66th overall pick in this summer's draft completed two shutout innings for the Scottsdale Scorpions, recording five strikeouts, two hits, and zero walks. Whisenhunt had been out with a COVID-19 infection for the first four weeks of the AFL season.

SF Giants prospect Carson Whisenhunt during his time in the Cape Cod League this summer.
SF Giants pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt throws a pitch during his sophomore season at East Carolina. (2021) / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Whisenhunt only needed 26 pitches to get through his two innings of work, and threw strikes at an incredible rate (76.9%). Just as impressively, despite throwing consistent strikes, Whisenhunt still racked up 11 swings-and-misses. In fact, opponents whiffed on 61.1% of their swings against him on Saturday (40% is considered elite).

The Arizona Fall League is generally considered equivalent to High-A or Double-A competition. The Giants willingness to challenge Whisenhunt suggests they expect him to move quickly through the minors. On Saturday, six of the eight batters Whisenhunt faced have already reached Double-A, the other two spent this season at High-A.

Whisenhunt was considered a first-round prospect during his sophomore season, but he was suspended for violating the NCAA's performance-enhancing drug policy and was not allowed to pitch in college this spring. Despite Whisenhunt only pitching competitively in the Cape Cod League this summer, The Giants offered him an above-slot $1.8 million signing bonus to forego his senior season at East Carolina.

Whisenhunt made his minor-league debut earlier this year, flashing similar dominance in short stints at the Arizona Complex League and Single-A San Jose. He was excellent at both levels, recording 14 strikeouts and one walk in 7.2 shutout innings.

It's exceedingly rare for a prospect to appear in the Arizona Fall League the year they are drafted. However, despite missing the past few weeks while he recovered from COVID-19, SF Giants pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt dominated hitters with extensive upper minor-league experience in his first appearance on Saturday.

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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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