San Francisco Giants Ace Could Join League of His Own in Next Start

A San Francisco Giants star pitcher could join a league of his own in his next start.

Sep 19, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb (62) delivers in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants won’t be making a trip to the playoffs for the third straight season and seventh time out of the last eight. But, there remains plenty to play for some members of the team.

Some veterans, such as outfielder Michael Conforto and potentially starting pitcher Blake Snell, will be looking to cash in as free agents. Conforto is in the final year of a two-year deal and Snell is likely to opt out and hit the open market for a second straight offseason.

On the field, there are some players who still have incredible accomplishments that can be achieved.

One player who falls into that category is starting pitcher, Logan Webb.

The 2024 campaign has been a struggle at times for the ace, who has a 3.58 ERA, his highest since 2020 when he exceeded rookie limits.

“I felt like I had good stuff but just not getting the job done,” Webb said, via Joe Trezza of MLB.com. “It’s frustrating because that’s how I’ve felt pretty much the whole season.”

Despite some frustrating stretches, Webb remains a reliable option atop the Giants rotation. For example, this was the first season that he earned a trip to the All-Star game as he continues to be one of the best workhorses in baseball.

On Thursday, Webb had a tough outing against the Baltimore Orioles, laboring through five innings as he allowed three earned runs with eight strikeouts. His pitch count skyrocketed thanks to a 41-pitch fourth inning.

“I just have to do better,” Webb said. “That’s what it comes down to.”

While hard on himself, his 2.96 FIP hints at some of the struggles he has faced being bad luck. But, if he makes his final starts of the season, he will still accomplish an incredible feat.

Through a league-high 32 starts, Webb has thrown 198.2 innings and faced 819 batters, both the most in baseball. Should he reach the 200-inning plateau, he will be the only player in the sport to do so each of the last two seasons.

In 2023, he led the MLB with 216 innings. It would take some truly incredible performances to match that total in 2024, but the work he has put in should not go unnoticed.

The best ability that a professional athlete can have is availability. With pitchers going down so often to arm injuries, Bob Melvin has the incredible luxury of knowing he can hand the ball to Webb every time it is his turn in the rotation.