San Francisco Giants Deadline Moves Puts Pressure on Young Starter to Perform

Following the moves the San Francisco Giants made at the trade deadline, there is now a lot of pressure on one of their rookies to perform well.

Jul 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants are attempting to make a late push in the final two months of the year so they can be playing postseason baseball for the first time since 2021.

That was the goal when the front office went out and spent money on multiple high-profile free agents to completely revamp this roster.

For long stretches of the year that had not happened, prompting them to be viewed as a selling team ahead of the now passed trade deadline where they could have attempted to recuperate some assets while waiving the white flag on their season.

The Giants sold off some parts, but not in the fashion that many expected.

Jorge Soler and Alex Cobb were two names shipped out of town, largely to get their salaries off the books and to give some of their younger players a better opportunity to get regular action.

Because San Francisco's front office decided to go in this direction, there is now tons of pressure on those young players to perform, and perhaps, there is no greater tension than what has been placed on the shoulder of their young starter Hayden Birdsong.

Moving Cobb now slots the 22-year-old rookie into the rotation behind two Cy Young winners, including one who just threw his first career no-hitter, and behind an All-Star. It's expected Birdsong will hold his own every fifth day.

Eno Sarris of The Athletic wrote about some players around the league who are now going to be thrust into the spotlight following the moves their teams made ahead of the deadline.

He talked about how Birdsong's development will now have to take place at the Major League level, something that could result in some issues for him and the Giants down the stretch.

"The worry is always about the fastball. Not only is it poor in shape, but this is what the heat map looks like for his four seamer," he writes while highlighting a scattered zone of pitches. "That's a lot of noncompetitive pitches above the zone. Birdsong could show enough command of the breaking pitches to use the four-seam as an out-pitch, or start to corral the four-seam better, but this is a key part of his development that is up in the air."

So far, that has not been an issue for the young starter.

He's posted a 3-0 record and 2.97 ERA across his six starts, striking out 38 batters in 30.1 innings pitched.

But as Major League hitters adjust to what he's throwing and see him more often, it's going to be difficult to keep up this level of performance if he struggles to locate and get his fastball across the plate.

That's not to say he can't do it.

He was a highly-touted prospect before his promotion for a reason, but this is just to say that San Francisco is now relying on him to be special down the stretch if they are going to make the playoffs.

If Birdsong is able to deliver, then the Giants will truly have something special on their hands.