San Francisco Giants Star Prospect Draws Comparisons to Future Hall of Famer

There has been a lot of positives being said about one of the San Francisco Giants star prospects, but one stands out following him getting compared to a future Hall of Fame player.

Jun 26, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning at Oracle Park / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants have had a disappointing year compared to preseason expectations. After they brought in high-profile free agents, they were predicted to be a playoff team even in the competitive National League.

Entering Sunday's finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they are four games under .500. But, with how tightly contested things are in the Wild Card race, they are three back from the final spot. With a good stretch of play, they can put themselves right back into the mix.

Getting this Giants team to have one of those stretches has been the issue, though.

Injuries have played a major factor, but with Blake Snell and Robbie Ray getting closer to returning, that should provide a boost to their rotation.

With those two starters out, San Francisco was able to see what their No. 6 overall prospect Hayden Birdsong was able to do at the Major League level after he posted a 3.02 ERA across his 48 outings and 38 starts in the minors.

Called up for his MLB debut on June 26, he showed some good stuff, throwing 4.2 innings and giving up three earned runs on six hits while striking out five batters.

It wasn't overly impressive, but showcased the potential the 22-year-old has going forward.

One former Giants pitcher and current minor league pitching coach with the organization, Ryan Vogelsong, had an interesting comparison when talking about San Francisco's newest starting arm.

"To me, he's a young Justin Verlander. I like the high arm slot, the breaking ball's similar, the slider is similar, the changeup's coming," he said according to Susan Slasser of The San Francisco Chronicle.

That's certainly a bold statement considering Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers of this generation with three Cy Young awards, an MVP, and the 10th-most strikeouts of all time.

If Birdsong can even have half of the career that Verlander put together, then the Giants are going to be extremely happy for a long time with their 2022 sixth round pick.

Expecting that shouldn't be the case, but it points to the potential that Vogelsong sees in the young starter.

"Birdsong was an astute pick by the Giants. Strong frame, fluid delivery, easy cheese. He powered his way through that system — pure stuff warrants a higher-prospect pedigree," one AL evaluator told Slasser.

It seems like he'll have some runway to showcase what he can do until Snell and Ray make their returns to the rotation. Hopefully, he's able to build upon his first Major League start and settle into this level to dominate like he has throughout his career.