SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In the end, the competition for the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation was always going to come down to Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp. And Kyle Harrison, due to circumstances he couldn’t control, was always on the outside looking in.
The Giants announced on Saturday morning that they optioned Harrison to the minor leagues, leaving Birdsong and Roupp as the two finalists to round out San Francisco’s rotation.
Danville’s Harrison, the Giants’ top pitching prospect since he was drafted out De La Salle in 2020, was the favorite to win the spot entering camp after making 24 starts and tossing 124 1/3 innings last season, both second on the Giants only to ace Logan Webb. But the 23-year-old left-hander was already behind after losing 10 to 15 pounds due to an illness right before the start of camp.
“When you talk about the competition for the five spot, he was never really in it based on his starting point and where he is right now,” manager Bob Melvin said Saturday. “We just need to get him up to speed and get him more innings and get him stretched out longer in games. It was always more between Roupp and Birdsong. I think Kyle was kind of lumped into that, but kind of unfairly because he was behind in his progression.”
Roupp and Birdsong made their Cactus League debuts on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23, respectively, but Harrison didn’t pitch in his first spring training game until Feb. 28. Birdsong and Roupp have each thrown 12 innings this spring, their longest outings each being five innings. Harrison has only pitched 6 2/3 innings and hasn’t gone more than three innings. Birdsong, Harrison and Roupp will all pitch in the Giants’ exhibition against the Sacramento River Cats on Sunday; Roupp will start for the Giants and be followed by Birdsong while Harrison will start for the River Cats.
With camp ending in Arizona, the Giants’ decision to start Harrison in the minors — presumably with Triple-A Sacramento — does not come as much of a surprise. Following Harrison’s last outing, Melvin said it “might be hard” for Harrison to get fully stretched out in time for the season.
“We’ll see where we are with him,” Melvin said. “He’s a little bit behind everybody,” Melvin said after Harrison’s most recent outing last Sunday. “Getting him three innings and it seemed like there was a little bit more life in his arm. Like I said, it was a step in the right direction.”
Melvin said the Giants haven’t decided what to do once Harrison is stretched out.
Birdsong appears to have the advantage in the competition for the final spot in the rotation.
In four Cactus League appearances, the 23-year-old Birdsong has allowed one earned run across 12 innings (0.75 ERA) with 18 strikeouts. He also hasn’t walked a batter, no small feat given he walked 13.7% of the batters he faced as a rookie.
Roupp, 26, has also enjoyed an impressive spring. Along with a 3.75 ERA with 14 strikeouts to two walks, Roupp struck out 13 batters over five scoreless innings against the Colorado Rockies Single-A team last week.
It’s also possible that Birdsong and Roupp could both make the Opening Day roster — one in the rotation and the other in the bullpen.Melvin said Roupp starting for the Giants on Sunday likely isn’t an indication that the Giants favor him over Birdsong for the final rotation spot.”]
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“Both of them have pitched really well,” Melvin said. “It’s been pretty difficult to figure out if one of them’s in the bullpen, one of them’s in the (rotation) and who’s it going to be. I’m not saying that’s the way it’s going to be — that option is there. But it’s been very difficult because of them have pitched really well and you love seeing that.”
Winn, Lucchesi also part of cuts
Along with Harrison, right-hander Keaton Winn was optioned and left-hander Joey Lucchesi, a non-roster invitee, was re-assigned to minor league camp.
With Lucchesi out of the running for the Opening Day roster, the Giants will open the season with Erik Miller as the only left-handed reliever in the bullpen. Newark’s Lucchesi has an out in his contract, but not until July.
“He’s a starter trying to acclimate to that role,” Melvin said. “His clean innings were clean and he pitched well. It’s just about trying to keep as many options open as we can. Which, a lot of times at the beginning of the season, you look to do, but there’s also some other guys that have performed really well that are going to be on the team.”
