SAN FRANCISCO -- After about three weeks back in Triple-A, Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison felt he was back to feeling like himself. His shoulder was bouncing back well after every start and his velocity was ticking up. When it started to get back into the 96-98 mph range that Harrison showed as a rookie in 2023, he got the sneaking suspicion that he might soon be back in the big leagues -- except as a reliever this time.
A few days later, Harrison found himself pitching out of the Giants' bullpen for the first time as a professional. He has joined Hayden Birdsong in what is a bit of a unique alignment in today's game.
This spring, as the Giants tried to sort through the Birdsong-Landen Roupp fifth-starter competition, Bob Melvin noted that Jesus Luzardo had been eased in as a reliever when he came up with Melvin's A's in 2019. It's not unusual to have one top prospect get his feet wet in the bullpen, but the Giants have had two for the last couple of weeks, and others are trying to enter the mix as well.
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SIGN UP HERE Even with Birdsong, Harrison and Roupp in San Francisco, the Triple-A rotation is loaded with young talent. Right-handers Carson Seymour, Trevor McDonald and Mason Black have all gotten off to solid starts in Sacramento, but the standout has been Carson Whisenhunt, the organization's No. 2 prospect.
Whisenhunt struck out nine over seven innings on Tuesday to lower his ERA to 3.48. The league is full of ballparks that rival Coors Field, but at home, in a more neutral environment, Whisenhunt has a 1.46 ERA. He's the first River Cat in eight years to throw at least seven innings in three consecutive starts, and he has allowed just four runs and walked one in 21 innings in May.
Melvin watched part of Tuesday's Triple-A game to see the at-bats of rehabbing infielders Tyler Fitzgerald and Casey Schmitt. He couldn't help but notice what Whisenhunt was doing.
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"He's been great. With the guys that we have here pitching out of the bullpen, we also need guys starting down there, too," Melvin said. "I think he's really emerged this year. Last year, I thought potentially there would be a time we might see him, but I think coming in this year, it's a different look, it's a different intensity to it. I think his focus is on trying to get here to the big leagues this year."
Like all of the young pitchers in Triple-A, Whisenhunt is finding that there's only so much he can control. The Giants have used the same five starters all season, although it's possible that changes before the end of May.
Jordan Hicks was roughed up Wednesday and Melvin was noncommittal afterward about the upcoming plans for the starter with a 6.55 ERA. It's possible that Birdsong or Harrison slides into that spot soon, although if that doesn't happen, the Giants might run into a slight complication with their two young options.
The staff believes that either Birdsong or Harrison could be stretched out to about four innings right now, but the longer they serve as relievers, the longer it will take for them to get their pitch counts back up. Given that there are two of them, that ultimately might not be a problem if a rotation change is made. They could piggyback initially to make sure there's no extra stress on the bullpen.
No matter what the Giants decide to do with the back end of their rotation, they know they'll need their prospects at some point this season. They've been remarkably healthy, but teams generally plan to use double-digit starters over 162 games.
There should, at some point, be a real opportunity for Birdsong, Harrison, Whisenhunt and others on the waiting list, although Harrison said nobody is viewing it that way in Triple-A or the big league bullpen.
"Control what you can, be where your feet are and just get outs," Harrison said. "That's still the name of the game, no matter where I'm at -- I'm going to try and get outs and if the team has different plans for us, so be it, but for now this is what we're going to do. We're going to get outs wherever they need me."
Harrison has allowed just one hit -- a solo homer -- in three relief appearances since returning, and in Triple-A, he had a 3.46 ERA. He said the young starters in Sacramento were competing with each other on a nightly basis, something that started on opening night, when Seymour struck out eight in four scoreless innings. Harrison followed with four strong innings the next day, and a day later, Whisenhunt struck out nine.
The prospects will at some point make an impact at the big league level, and it doesn't necessarily have to be in the Giants' rotation or bullpen. There are few things more valuable than controllable young starters, and the Giants should have an arm or two to trade as they search for upgrades to the lineup at the trade deadline.
There are flaws on the big league roster, as the Giants have shown in recent days, and they're not exactly overflowing with position players who are ready to take the leap from Triple-A. But in Sacramento and the big league bullpen, the young pitchers have at least lived up to the hype thus far.
"That's the sweet spot of the organization right now, is the young pitching we have," Melvin said. "Coming out of spring we were talking about all the starting pitching we had and now we're using a couple of guys out of the bullpen and they've been effective, too."