Giants Baseball Insider

San Francisco Giants Young Right-Hander Has Staked Claim For Final Rotation Spot

The San Francisco Giants question in the back of the starting rotation may soon be answered.

Michael Brauner

Aug 23, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco Giants starter Hayden Birdsong (60) delivers a pitch twelfth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Aug 23, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco Giants starter Hayden Birdsong (60) delivers a pitch twelfth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
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The San Francisco Giants entered the offseason widely expected to do a complete overhaul of their pitching staff and go after some of the top names on the market.

Though it didn't work out that way outside of adding 42-year-old Justin Verlander on a short-term deal, that does not mean there's a shortage of options to fill roles within the rotation.

Quite the contrary in fact.

The Giants have a heated battle playing out for the final spot.

Unquestionably, Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Verlander, and Jordan Hicks are locks, but the fifth spot is a battle largely between Kyle Harrison, Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong.

The way things have played out, it seems like San Francisco may have already found their answer.

Roupp was always the one with the outside shot, so this has realistically been a battle between Harrison and Birdsong.

If how the pair of 23-year-old's have performed this spring is the only factor the team is evaluating, things shouldn't be close.

Birdsong has been phenomenal thus far with his greatest performance yet in a victory on Sunday.

The right-hander tossed five innings and gave up just two hits with no runs and a staggering eight strikeouts, bringing his ERA this spring to a remarkable 0.75 with a WHIP of 0.50 and 18 strikeouts in just 12 innings pitched.

Harrison, on the other hand, had another rough outing coming in relief of Birdsong, giving up four hits and three runs in three innings pitched.

While he did strike out four hitters, the performance brought his ERA this spring to an ugly 10.80 with a WHIP of 2.10.

He has also been outperformed severely by Roupp, who boasts a 3.75 ERA and 0.75 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched.

While Birdsong has trended exactly the way the organization wants to see from a young pitcher, Harrison has dealt with velocity issues and is moving in the wrong direction.

Still extremely young, Harrison has time to develop into the kind of pitcher the team feels he can be, but something is missing right now and he may need some more time in Triple-A to tune some things up.

Understandably, the Giants want the battle between the two to be a difficult decision with both playing well, but that's simply not the way it's played out.

Birdsong is pitching at a level where it looks like he cannot be denied a spot within the top-five.

He was up and down during his rookie season with a 4.75 ERA over 16 starts, a mark Harrison eclipsed.

That was then and this is now, however, and it's Birdsong who has staked his claim this spring.

Having taken a leap from last year to now, he looks poised to become the next star pitcher in the Bay Area.

At this point, it would be a surprise to see anyone else named as San Francisco's fifth starter.

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Michael Brauner
MICHAEL BRAUNER

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