A way-too-early SF Giants starting rotation projection for 2025

The SF Giants rotation had a very up and down campaign in 2024. Let's take a preliminary look as what their rotation may look like going into 2025 as they try to turn it into the strength that it was during the championship years.

This article will not predict any trades or free agent signings that the Giants may make in the offseason to bolster the rotation. Instead, it will project what the rotation would look like with current players on the team. It will also assume that Blake Snell will opt out of his contract with the Giants and sign elsewhere and that Robbie Ray will opt in to his $25 million player option and stay with the Giants.

With those parameters set, let's look at what a potential Giants rotation could look like in 2025.

Projecting 2025 SF Giants rotation

1. Logan Webb

We all know Logan Webb is the undisputed ace of the Giants. He made it to his first All-Star Game in 2024 and made it over the 200-inning mark for the second straight season. He is the one guy the Giants will not be worried about going into next year, but the rest of the rotation has a lot of question marks.

2. Robbie Ray

The Giants did not get Robbie Ray in the big leagues until the second half. It was a mixed bag for him on the mound as he had excellent starts like his 5 innings of one-run ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his debut as a Giant. But he also had outings like the one against the Atlanta Braves where he could not make it out of the first and gave up 5 earned runs. He also did miss the last month of the season with a hamstring injury. His 7 games in 2024 make for a small sample size, so we do not fully know what to expect from Ray in 2025.

3. Kyle Harrison

Like Ray, it was a mixed bag for the rookie Kyle Harrison in 2024. His 7-7 record with an ERA of 4.56 in 24 starts and 124 and 1/3 innings pitched leaves a lot to be desired, but it was his first full season in the big leagues.

It is important to remember that Harrison is just 23 years old and the Giants still leaned on him heavily this past season. Some fatigue clearly set it later in the year and a shoulder injury forced him to miss the last month of the season.

The hope is that with a full year of experience under his belt Harrison will come back stronger next year and establish himself as a key part of the rotation.

4. Jordan Hicks

The Giants will have an interesting decision to make on Jordan Hicks in 2025. He thrived in the rotation early in the season, posting an ERA of 1.59 at the end of April. But the wear and tear of starting every 5 days caught up with him by the summer as his ERA ballooned to 4.01 by his last start in July. This forced him to head back to the bullpen which is where he has been most of his MLB career.

The Giants are paying him $12.5 million next season so it seems like they will give him a chance to be a starter again but he will probably have a short leash if his struggles continue.

5. Hayden Birdsong

Hayden Birdsong was a pleasant surprise as a rookie who delivered some solid outings for the Giants. His 4.75 ERA in 72 innings pitched is not great, but his 88 strikeouts are a really positive sign that suggests his swing and miss stuff could play with some more refinement. He could be a guy who makes a big jump in his second year.

So there is an early projection of the rotation for the Giants. Clearly they would benefit from adding another rotation arm, but they do have several arms that showed flashes of dominance in 2024 but need to be more consistent going forward.