SAN FRANCISCO — With the Giants’ rotation in flux following Hayden Birdsong’s demotion and Landen Roupp’s injury, manager Bob Melvin announced following Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the New York Mets that top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt will start on Monday and make his major-league debut.
“We’ve been waiting for this for a little bit now,” Melvin said. “We thought maybe he’d be here last year, too. He’s our top pitching prospect, I believe. With what’s going on with the injury and Bird going down, there’s a need for it. It’ll be exciting to see him pitch.”
The 24-year-old left-hander recently represented the Giants along with undrafted reliever Trent Harris at the All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta, retiring both batters that he faced. This season, Whisenhunt owns a 4.42 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 97 2/3 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Whisenhunt, a second-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft, started the season hot by posting a 3.00 ERA over his first nine starts, twice being named PCL Pitcher of the Week. At one point, Whisenhunt had four straight outings where he completed seven innings and struck out 28 batters over 28 innings. He hasn’t experienced the same success over his last nine starts, posting a 5.98 ERA over 46 2/3 innings.
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The left-hander’s best pitch is his changeup, an offspeed offering that is widely considered to be elite. On the 20-80 scouting scale, FanGraphs gave Whisenhunt’s changeup an 80.
The length of Whisenhunt’s outing will depend on his efficiency against the Pittsburgh Pirates, which rank last in all of baseball in OPS (.640). Whisenhunt’s last outing was on July 20, when he pitched 3 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate.
Once Whisenhunt’s night ends, there’s a strong possibility that right-hander Carson Seymour could follow him out of the bullpen. Seymour, Whisenhunt and Carson Ragsdale, who is currently pitching for Triple-A Sacramento, represent the Giants’ trio of Carsons.
“It was fun to watch,” said Seymour, who has allowed two runs over six innings this season. “I got to watch him up close in the dugout. It’s a legit changeup, for sure. The fastball’s good. The sequencing is great. … He’s a great pitcher, really good pitcher.”
