San Francisco Giants Top Pitching Prospect Being Held Back by Key Issue

A young San Francisco Giants pitcher has some work to do in one aspect before being a reliable option in the rotation.

Jul 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; National League Futures relief pitcher Carson Whisenhunt (18) of the San Francisco Giants pitches to the American League during the third inning of the All Star-Futures game at T-Mobile Park. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

On Saturday night, the San Francisco Giants played their Spring Breakout game against the Texas Rangers.

This has become an excellent event for MLB to feature some of their bright young stars on a bigger stage during spring training when they may no longer be with the Major League club.

The Giants and Rangers played to a 5-5 tie in their matchup, but there was plenty to take away from the game.

San Francisco's pitchers stole the show, as Keith Law of The Athletic (paid subscription required) shared some scouting notes from the game.

One of the focuses on the Giants’ side was their starter, Carson Whisenhunt. A second-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of East Carolina, he was one of the top prospects in the game ahead of the 2024 campaign.

He was ranked as high as No. 68 by Baseball Prospectus, but didn’t find himself on the top 100 prospects list this year after some struggles at Triple-A Sacramento during the 2024 campaign.

I 25 starts he threw 104.2 innings with a 5.17 ERA. One positive was that he struck out 135 batters for an impressive 11.6 K/9, showcasing some front end of the rotation stuff.

On Saturday night against Texas, Whisenhunt showcased the lowest velocity of anyone who took the mound with his fastball sitting at 91-94 mph. He isn’t hurt by the lack of velocity because he has the best changeup amongst minor leaguers.

Opponents cannot pick up on it and he uses it as his wipeout pitch. It is so good, Law believes he could tell the hitters that it is coming and they still wouldn’t be able to do much with it.

His breaking pitches were operating at a solid level, which was encouraging to see as the young lefty looks to expand his repertoire.

However, there is still one flaw in his game that needs to be addressed for him to reach his potential — his command.

“...there’s still some cross-body action to the delivery that I think is part of the problem with his control. It’s a starter arsenal with command that will probably always have him pitching below where you think he should be,” Law wrote.

There was some hope that he was turning a corner in that regard. With the Giants during Cactus League, he didn’t walk a batter during his three innings of work, allowing only one hit. 

However, against the Rangers in the Spring Breakout, he walked two batters in his three innings of work.

Handing out free passes was an issue during the 2024 campaign as well, issuing 53 walks and resulting in a 4.6 BB/9 ratio.

Until he can hone in his control, Whisenhunt won’t be at the front of the pecking order for the organization as someone to make starts at the Major League level. He is well behind players such as Kyle Harrison, Landen Roupp, Hayden Birdsong and Keaton Winn.

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