Ryan Vogelsong: Replacement options if San Francisco Giants starting pitcher continues to falter

Oct 25, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) shakes hands with relief pitcher Hunter Strickland (left) after defeating the San Francisco Giants during game four of the 2014 World Series at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Rivercat relievers: Hunter Strickland and Steven Okert

Unfortunately, there are no more Chris Hestons down in Sacramento. In other words, there are no starters on the 40-man roster who can come up and replace Vogelsong outright.

There are, however, a couple relief pitchers in waiting.

The first, Hunter Strickland, is a kid the Giants fan base is very familiar with following his forgettable 2014 postseason. To Strickland’s credit, he didn’t let the ghosts of playoff past affect his progress, avoiding the long-ball in 11 innings for the Rivercats so far this season while yielding only one run (.82 ERA) and two walks with 11 strikeouts.

The other, Steven Okert, is a 23-year-old lefty that has quickly progressed through the Giants’ farm system, impressing at each stop along the way. He too boasts a sub-1.00 ERA for the ’Cats, but due to his southpaw profile and lack of seasoning, he’s almost certainly behind Strickland—and possibly even right-hander Cody Hall—on the depth chart.

However, if either reliever were to get called up, that would effectively mean the Giants’ new fifth starter would be…

Next: On to slide three