San Francisco Giants Are Going With Youth Over Experience

With veteran pitchers coming back from injury, the San Francisco Giants have decided to keep their young arms in the starting rotation.

The San Francisco Giants have decided to keep the young arms in their rotation. Thus far, Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez have proven themselves enough to keep starting games for the team. This move boots veteran Derek Holland and quasi-veteran Chris Stratton out of the starting five. Is this the right move? Only time will tell.

Based on the numbers, though,  it makes sense. Andy Suarez started off rather shakily but has been near masterful as of late. On the other hand, Rodriguez has pitched decent to well in all of his starts except for one.

I’m intrigued by both of these young arms, but something about Rodriguez gets me really excited. It may be the Catwoman tattoo but I think it’s that steely look in his eye as he attacks big league hitters. That’s the thing that impresses me most about him, his fearlessness.

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You’d expect most rookies, especially pitchers, to be a bit timid in their first year. They try to nibble at corners and walk guys just to ensure they don’t give up too many long balls. Not Dereck Rodriguez. Kruk and Kuip commented on the fact that he hasn’t changed his approach from the minors to the big leagues.

He has enough belief in his stuff that he feels he doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel just because the lights are brighter. That’s supreme confidence right there. His approach reminds me of another Giant in the form of Madison Bumgarner.

Bumgarner has talked about in the past how he doesn’t alter his approach when he’s on the mound. He wants to make hitters adjust to him instead of the other way around. I love it; that kind of cocky stubbornness is necessary to be a great pitcher. Of course, this approach might lead to a few too many fastballs at the belt, but overall it’s an admirable strategy.

Suarez excites me as well but not in the same way. Andy strikes me as more of a Jonathan Sanchez type who has a quiet confidence and nasty stuff to go with it which is a lethal combo.

If their early careers are any indication, both Rodriguez and Suarez have high ceilings. However, we must be cautious to not expect to much from them this year. They are rookies after all, and rookies are prone to making mistakes and getting figured out by opponents.

Even if they struggle though, it’s reassuring to know the Giants have two capable starters in Holland and Stratton(three if you count Ty Blach). Let’s hope that their services aren’t necessary and instead that Rodriguez and Suarez run with their starting gigs for a long time.