San Francisco Giants Ace Named Team's First Half MVP

The San Francisco Giants pitcher has been crucial to the team's success in the first half of the season.

Jun 12, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb (62) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Oracle Park. / Bob Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants pitching staff has had a rocky season, but they've been able to count on at least one arm.

As ESPN's Bradford Doolittle found each team's first half MVP, he landed on starting pitcher Logan Webb for San Francisco.

"Webb continues to be the rarest of 2024 baseball birds: a durable rotation stalwart. Once again he's on track to top 200 innings after last year's league-leading 216 frames," said Doolittle. "It's not just bulk but quality bulk: Webb has put up an ERA+ between 123 and 136 in each of the past four seasons, so far."

In 19 games this year, the righty has a 3.09 ERA and has been a much needed workhorse. His most recent outing saw him go 104 pitches, which was the ninth time this season he's reached the mark.

The 27-year-old has been the definition of consistent in a roster full of chaos. He leads the league in innings pitched for the second year in a row. His ERA has been between 2.90 and 3.25 since 2021.

One reason that he's been able to stay healthy is that he's more focused on groundballs and making sure that batters can't get solid contact rather than blowing it by them.

He has both the lowest strikeouts per nine and WHIP among the starting rotation. While it might not be the most fun to watch for some, it gets results.

His availability has been so important because most every other arm on the team has missed major playing time. Having someone just able to get through innings is important, but to have that pitcher also do it while getting batters out is crucial.

Blake Snell, Keaton Winn, Kyle Harrison, Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray are all currently on the injured list. Webb and Jordan Hicks are the only healthy regular starters.

The oft-injured pitching staff has been a large reason that the Giants have found themselves in such a hole at this point of the year. They've starting to pick things up, though, 7-3 in their last 10 games, and once healthy they feel like they have a real shot at the playoffs.

There's no argument that Webb doesn't deserve the MVP for the first half of the season.