SF Giants fifth rounder Rohan Handa talks draft, heritage, and more

The SF Giants selected left-handed pitcher Rohan Handa out of Yale in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB draft with the 146th overall pick. He officially signed with the organization earlier this week. Handa has spent most of his amateur career off the radar of pro scouts, barely reaching 80 mph with his fastball as a high schooler and sitting in the mid-80s through most of his career at Yale. However, when the Ivy League canceled their baseball season this spring, Handa began working with private coaches to help improve. The results helped make Handa one of the most incredible draft stories in recent history.

Once Handa began his coaching program, his fastball made massive gains, quickly eclipsing 90 mph and even touching 97 mph. His offspeed pitches also gained velocity, giving him an intriguing mid-80s breaking ball as well. After recording an abysmal 5.97 ERA with just 19 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched at Yale, Handa became one of the most dominant arms at the New England Collegiate League, posting a 0.53 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 17 innings of work.

Just a few days after he was selected by the Giants, Handa was kind enough to chat with our own Wrenzie Regodon about his wild transformation, the draft process, and much more.

SF Giants: Rohan Handa talks draft process and reaction

W: Hey Rohan! How’s your day going? It’s been a few days since the draft, but do you still feel the draft fever?

R: The day’s been good. Obviously a few days after the draft, it still feels like a dream. It’s still surreal. But honestly, I’m just ready to get to work.

W: That’s really awesome man! How was the draft process for you? Did you know that the Giants were targeting you where they drafted you beforehand?

R: The draft process was pretty stressful, not gonna lie. It was definitely something that I was learning a lot about. But when it comes to the interest from the Giants, yeah there was interest there for about a month or two. I threw a bullpen prior to the ACC Championship back here in Charlotte and that kind of started the interest when it comes to the SF Giants.

When it comes to the rounds of kind of being picked in that spot, I was hearing that sort of round but I wasn’t exactly sure if that was true or not. I would have only believed it if my name was called in that round and that’s exactly what happened so I’m forever grateful.

SF Giants: Rohan Handa talks Indian heritage, arsenal

W: There have only been a handful of players selected in the MLB draft that are of Indian descent and you are even more special because both your parents are from India. I really would like to ask how did you find your love for the game of baseball? And how does it feel to be a member of the small fraternity of people with Indian blood to be selected in the MLB draft?

R: I started playing baseball at quite a young age. I began at the age of four. Tried out a lot of different sports and baseball is kind of my passion. It’s been my passion for my entire life and it’s something that I’ve just stuck with and just enjoyed even more and more. Obviously, there have been a lot of ups and downs when it comes to performance and the process of developing yourself. But I fell in love with the game quite early.

To answer your second question, it’s humbling to be a small part of history when it comes to people with Indian blood in the MLB Draft. Now, I think the goal is to first one to make Major League Baseball. I do think that would be something that’s very, very cool. But I’m also trying to expand the game in Southeast Asia. Obviously with India, you see cricket but baseball can also be expanded there. That’s the kind of ambition I have.

W: I definitely think that you have a big potential to be the first man from India to make it to the big leagues man, especially with the way that you improved over the winter and spring that was incredible to read about. Can you describe to me what is your pitching arsenal at the moment and your approach on the mound?

R: Pitching arsenal is two-seam, slider, splitter, cutter. And honestly, my approach is just to attack.

W: That’s a pretty diverse arsenal to have. Have you talked with the Giants coaches and have they told you like a plan moving forward if they did?

R: We’ve done a little bit of talking with the coaches but we’ll figure out a plan after the physical is done.

W: That sounds good man. I love the answers so far man. You are double majoring at Yale while playing baseball, right? How did you balance studying and baseball? I mean from the looks of it, you handled it very well because you’ve really improved!

R: So I’m majoring in Political Science and minoring essentially in Statistics and Data Science. Balancing it was tough. Freshman year was tough. But once I was able to stick to a routine and understand what I was really doing with myself on the development side of things, the studies part got easier because I have to kind of put a purpose behind it. But yeah, that’s kind of the way I’ve improved and I think that would be the best way to look at it.

W: Really good stuff man. I think I would like to cap off this interview with you bringing Kitaab to the US. For those who don’t know what Kitaab is, could you explain to the people what Kitaab does and why did you choose to support this initiative?  From what I read, it’s like an initiative to bring South Asian literature to the rest of the world, am I correct?

R: Your assumption is correct about Kitaab. Kitaab means “book” in Urdu, which is essentially a native language in India. My brother and I started the U.S. chapter here just to create some book drives, get some funds, and try to give some really cool books to these underprivileged children. We actually got the chance to give it to them personally when we went to India and it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.

W: That’s really awesome man. Thank you for doing an interview with me man! Really unexpected to hear your voice! Thank you very much! Would love to talk to you about stuff once again man!

R: Thank you.

Readers can click here to donate to Kitaab.

SF Giants drafted Rohan Handa out of Yale University, adding another intriguing left-handed pitcher to the organization. He’ll likely make his professional debut in the coming weeks, after officially signing earlier this week.