Landen Roupp injury opens the door to redemption for young SF Giants starter

The SF Giants have called up left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt who will get the ball on Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. He has a chance to redeem himself after his struggles when he was first called up.

Unfortunately, this opportunity came as a result of a scary injury to starting pitcher Landen Roupp in his most recent start. He had to be carted off the field and was diagnosed with a knee sprain which will almost certainly land him back on the IL.

Carson Whisenhunt has chance to make better second impression with SF Giants

In three starts with the Giants before he was demoted, Whisenhunt pitched to 5.02 ERA in 14 and 1/3 innings pitched. He had 12 strikeouts compared to seven walks and gave up an alarming five home runs during that short span.

A big reason why he struggled is because his changeup, his most highly touted pitch in the minors, seemed to abandon him at the big league level as opposing batters hit it hard.

Still, he had one really impressive start in New York against the Mets. He went 5 and 1/3 innings against a stout Mets lineup, even though they have struggled as of late, and gave up just one earned run. If we can see more of the Whisenhunt from that start the rest of the season it would be a welcome development.

After he was demoted to the minors in favor of Tyler Fitzgerald to try a weird experiment in right field, he made one start with the Sacramento River Cats and pitched well. He gave up two earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings of work while striking out six and walking four.

Whisenhunt is still the top pitching prospect in the organization so the Giants still have high hopes for him. In a perfect world, the Giants are probably hoping Whisenhunt does enough in the final month of the season to earn himself a spot in the rotation for 2026.

That may be wishful thinking, but if he can at the very least get his changeup to play at the big league level and gain some valuable experience in his final starts this season it will go a long way towards making the Giants feel better about his future.

It is unfortunate that he has this opportunity due to Roupp's injury, but Whisenhunt has a chance to step up and make a good second impression.

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