San Francisco Giants: Logan Webb shines in Triple-A debut

The San Francisco Giants top pitching prospect Logan Webb tossed a gem in his Triple-A debut. Could we see him in the majors soon?

We’ve seen a wave of prospect promotions from the San Francisco Giants recently, and among the players moving up a rung on the organizational ladder was right-hander Logan Webb.

The 22-year-old is widely regarded as the top pitching prospect in a vastly improved farm system, and while his 2019 season has been abridged by an 80-game PED suspension, he has continued to impress upon returning to the mound.

A fourth-round pick in 2014 who signed for an above-slot bonus of $600,000, Webb has been slow to develop due in part to Tommy John surgery that cost him most of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

He returned healthy last year and posted a 2.41 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 100 strikeouts in 104.2 innings between High-A and Double-A, and he was sent back to Double-A to begin the 2019 campaign.

In 41.1 innings of work sandwiched around the suspension, he posted a 2.18 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 12 walks.

That was enough to earn him a promotion to Triple-A and he made his Sacramento River Cats debut on Monday, tossing seven strong innings:

Already a member of the 40-man roster, it’s not out of the question to think that Webb could be among the team’s September promotions if he’s not called on sooner to help a starting rotation that is without injured Shaun Anderson and has endured a revolving door in the No. 5 starter spot.

With a 60-grade fastball and 60-grade slider, he already possesses two plus pitches, and that combination would undoubtedly play up out of the bullpen.

The San Francisco Giants will continue to develop him as a starter going forward in hopes that further refinement of his changeup can help him reach his ceiling as a middle-of-the-rotation arm.

However, he might be best deployed as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen in the short-term, which would allow the Giants to have a shorter leash with the starters not named Bumgarner and Samardzija.

Logan Webb is knocking on the door after a strong debut at Triple-A, and he could prove to be an impact addition to the San Francisco Giants pitching staff for the stretch run.