SF Giants prospect Sam Long making big-league debut on Wednesday

According to a report by FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, the SF Giants plan to promote left-handed pitching prospect Sam Long to their big-league roster on Wednesday, when he will start against the Texas Rangers. Long was ranked the 11th-best prospect in the Giants farm system heading into the season.

The Giants signed the Carmichael, California native to a minor-league contract this offseason with an invitation to big-league spring training. He quickly made an impression and became one of the organization’s rising stars. Here is an excerpt from his scouting report in my preseason Giants prospect rankings:

In his first outing of the spring, Long located his fastball and curveball on both sides of the plate and never used his changeup to retire the side. His fastball touched 97 mph and showed enough potential to rank among the organization’s top 31 prospects as a high-leverage reliever. The fact that he is already flashing three above-average or better pitches generates the legitimate mid-rotation or better upside that moved him to a 45-grade.It’s also been a couple of weeks since pitchers and catchers reported. Before then, Long looked like a system depth piece. He could quickly fall back to that if his velocity or command wane, but I believe the Giants would move him back to the bullpen if that happened. At that point, I’d expect him to become a high-leverage arm in the big-league pen quickly.

The SF Giants will promote pitching prospect Sam Long to make his big-league debut on Wednesday.

Long began the season at Double-A Richmond, where he struck out 22 batters across 15 innings and posted a 3.60 ERA before he was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento. The Sacramento State alum looked even more unhittable, allowing just one walk and one hit in his first two starts while striking out 15 in 7.2 shutout innings. Between Richmond and Sacramento, Long has struck out 44% of the batters he’s faced.

One important thing to note is Long has not been stretched out like other pitching prospects throughout the system. While other prospects have begun throwing 80-90 pitches an outing, Long has been held relatively static around 55-60 pitches. It would seem unlikely that the Giants would push him further in his big-league debut.

Sam Long has been one of the most exciting stories in the SF Giants organization in 2021. After a dominant spring training and strong stretch of play in the minor leagues, he will join their big-league rotation on Wednesday.