It will be hard for young SF Giants pitcher to become permanent rotation fixture

Nick San Miguel

San Francisco Giants v Minnesota Twins / Brace Hemmelgarn/GettyImages

When SF Giants veteran Justin Verlander had to go on the IL with a pectoral injury, his replacement in the rotation seemed obvious. While Kyle Harrison has a spot in the rotation for now, it will be hard for him to stay there.

Manager Bob Melvin said that Harrison will get the ball in Saturday's game against the Washington Nationals and in Verlander's next turn through the rotation. If Verlander is healthy after that, then it seems like Harrison will probably return to a bullpen role.

It will be hard for Kyle Harrison to become permanent member of SF Giants rotation

The Giants have a good problem on their hands because they have a lot of good starting pitchers on their big league roster. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray have both been dominant for most of the year, Hayden Birdsong looks like he is going to establish himself as a regular in the rotation, and Landen Roupp has been incredibly impressive in the month of May.

Going based off of performance alone, Verlander is the most likely member of the rotation that Harrison could supplant. He has not been atrocious by any means, but his 4.33 ERA in 10 starts leaves something to be desired even though he looked better in his last few outings before landing on the IL. Yet, given Verlander's pedigree he is going to be in the rotation if he is healthy unless he really starts to struggle on the mound.

That could put Harrison in a tough start with an undefined role, but he has been willing to roll with the punches no matter what this season. He had to deal with the disappointment of not making the Opening Day roster but took it in stride as he pitched very well in Triple-A to earn a call up. So far he has looked great coming out of the bullpen with a 3.38 ERA in 5 and 1/3 innings pitched. Plus, his fastball velocity has been up which is a great sign.

All the San Jose native can do is continue to pitch well however the Giants decide to use him. We already saw earlier this season how Hayden Birdsong's superb bullpen outings earned him a spot in the rotation. Harrison could definitely follow that same blueprint and eventually his time may come if a starter gets injured or if someone struggles.

Nick San Miguel

Nick San Miguel has been writing at FanSided since 2017. He began as a contributor writing about the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and became a Site Co-Expert for AtF in 2024. A die-hard Bay Area sports fan born 10 minutes from Levi's Stadium, he has also written about the San Francisco 49ers for Niner Noise as a contributor since December 2023. In October 2025, he joined Blue Man Hoop as a contributor to write about the Golden State Warriors. He graduated with a degree in History from San Diego State University and is now based out of Chicago. He is the same age as Oracle Park.