San Francisco Giants Starter Has New Found Confidence After Latest Start

In his first start back from injury, the Giants' blockbuster free agent signing is feeling good.

Jul 9, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Oracle Park. Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports / Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants signed Blake Snell in the offseason to create a dangerous one-two punch with Logan Webb. Instead, Snell has struggled with both his performance and injury all season long. In his first start back, the lefty had his best start as a Giant and is feeling confident.

Snell signed late in Spring Training and started off his season late. Unfortunately for San Francisco, he was not the Cy Young winner they signed in his first few starts. Through his first six starts, the 31-year-old struggled mightily and had been borderline un-pitchable.

In 23.2 innings, the two time Cy Young winner had a 9.51 ERA and a WHIP of 1.944. For a pitcher that has struggled with walks in his career, Snell's control had been even worse, walking 5.3 batters per nine. The one good sign was that his strikeouts were still up, with an 11.8 K/9 mark.

Snell hit the injured list at the end of May and returned before injuring his groin and missing over a month. On Tuesday he returned from the 15-day IL and gave his best performance as a Giant.

In five innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, Snell threw five innings, allowing just one hit with three walk and strikeouts a piece. After the game in his media session, the he talked about his game and how he is feeling overall.

"Just find a rhythm, trust my stuff. Trust my body. Yeah, I felt a lot better. Just more confidence knowing that I'm able to repeat. It's a good feeling," the lefty told reporters.

Snell's ability to repeat shows that his mechanics were in order on Tuesday, a good sign for a pitcher hwo had no Spring Training. His fastball reached 97.7 mph, which was a season high. While his fastball may be at optimal form, he still believes he can work on his other pitches.

"Slider was good, curveball can get better.," Snell explained. "Changeup will get better, they're all good, they need to get sharper. Around the zone, in the zone, still think I can be better."

His latest return from injury not only saw a change and feel for his stuff, but a change in his mindset. In his first start back from rehabbing with Triple-A Sacramento, Snell made it a point to talk about the difference of rehab and real games.

"In Triple-A rehabbing, you don't think the same way. You're not as locked in on every pitch, the movement. You try to be, but it's not close." he said.

Now that Snell is back in the big leagues and feeling better, one thing is clear: he is more confident. He told reporters he was "excited" about making adjustments in the game.

Snell was a big part of the Giants offseason dealings and presumed to be a big part of their rotation this season. Between the injuries and struggles on the field, he has not been what the team paid for up to this point. If they want to compete for a WIld Card spot, Blake Snell will need to be the Blake Snell of old as the number two in their rotation. After Tuesday, he looks to be on the right track.