Could SF Giants be preparing for roster move after southpaw prospect was scratched from Saturday's start?

SF Giants pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt was slated to start for the Sacramento River Cats against the Las Vegas Aviators on Saturday night. However, the Giants could be preparing for a roster move, as he was a last-minute scratch.

SF Giants could be preparing for roster move after top pitching prospect was scratched from Saturday's start

Left-handed pitcher Antonio Jimenez has been tabbed to fill in for Whisenhunt. No reason was provided for the change, but it might be relatively easy to read between the lines.

The Giants' rotation is now down to three starters following the Landen Roupp injury. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray have done a nice job carrying the front of the rotation. However, Justin Verlander has been mostly ineffective through 17 starts.

The Giants need a couple more rotation arms. As of Saturday night, they do not have a starter listed for Sunday's game against the New York Mets. However, they could employ a bullpen game, with Carson Seymour handling the bulk of the workload.

That strategy can work, but it stretches the bullpen thin. Perhaps, the Giants are fine with this strategy for a start or two, but they would prefer to have a starter handle those innings. This is where Carson Whisenhunt could come into play.

The top Giants lefty pitching prospect is not currently on the 40-man roster, so a roster move would need to be made.

Whisenhunt got off to a strong start to this season. However, he has struggled lately, which is likely due to fatigue. Whisenhunt has a relatively low innings threshold, as he has never thrown more than 109.2 innings in a season as a pro. He set that mark last year, and is on pace to comfortably surpass that this season.

Overall, Whisenhunt has pitched to a 4.42 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, 7.92 K/9, and a 3.07 SO/W rate across 97.2 frames with Sacramento. Compared to last season, the walks are down, but so are the strikeouts.

More than anything, it might be time to get the 24-year-old pitcher out of the Pacific Coast League. His stuff plays better as he throws closer to sea level, but many of the ballparks are at such high elevations that he struggles on the road.

On the mound, Whisenhunt flashes a low-to-mid 90's fastball with a changeup and slider. The fastball velocity sat closer to the mid 90's earlier in the year, but he has struggled to maintain that velocity as the season has progressed. His changeup continues to be a plus pitch, as it has late, fading action. Opposing hitters struggle to pick it up because he uses the same arm speed as his fastball. Whisenhunt also has a low 80's, gyro slider that has turned into a quality secondary offering.