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San Francisco Giants Right-Hander Makes Statement in Bid for Rotation Spot

Landen Roupp got another opportunity to make his case for a spot in the San Francisco Giants starting rotation on Tuesday.

Kyle Morton

Apr 19, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp (65) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the sixth inning at Oracle Park.
Apr 19, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp (65) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the sixth inning at Oracle Park. / John Hefti-Imagn Images
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One of the most intriguing storylines of spring training for the San Francisco Giants has been the organization's promising young starting pitchers pushing for spots in the rotation to begin the season.

Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander are virtually assured of their spots as established veterans, and Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks are penciled in for the four and five spots as it stands right now.

But other, younger options have spent the string making strong cases for their inclusion in the group, and Landen Roupp continued his push with a brilliant start against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. It played into his terrific numbers overall this spring.

Roupp flumoxed the Padres for 3.1 innings, as he did not allow a walk or a hit while fanning three on a tidy 47 pitches. The 26-year-old righty hit one batter to prevent him from being perfect in the outing, but it served as another data point in his favor as he continues to turn in a brilliant spring.

The North Carolina native is now up to 8.1 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts over three starts. Among all MLB pitchers this spring, he's second in innings pitched, tied for second in punchouts and he is one of two pitchers to throw more than 7.0 innings without allowing a run.

Roupp was impressive in his limited action in San Francisco in 2024 as well, as he made 23 appearances (including four starts) to the tune of a 3.58 ERA over 50.1 innings pitched in which he struck out 47 hitters.

The other youngster battling for a spot in the rotation along with Roupp is Hayden Birdsong, another righty with a nasty curveball who also flashed some immense upside last season and has started the spring strong.

Both Roupp and Birdsong could start the season in the bullpen or in Triple-A Sacramento if they don't leave spring training with a spot as a starter.

Roupp made 19 relief apperances for the Giants last year, but it would be eminently reasonable for the club to decide he would benefit from more seasoning with Sacramento, as he has thrown just 21.1 innings at the Triple-A level before earning the call up to the Big Leagues.

But for young pitchers like Roupp, Birdsong and Harrison, there is also immense value in every day spent in the MLB clubhouse in the presence of future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, who has embraced the opportunity to mentor the future of his new team's rotation.

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Kyle Morton
KYLE MORTON

Kyle Morton has covered various sports from amateur to professional level athletics. A graduate of Fordham University, Kyle specializes in MLB and NHL coverage while having previous bylines with SB Nation, The Hockey Writers, HighSchoolOT, and Sports World News. He spent time working the beat for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and is an avid fan of the NHL, MLB, NFL and college basketball. Enjoys the outdoors and hiking in his free time away from sports.

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