Despite rough finish, Mason Black shows promise in SF Giants debut

The SF Giants are in the middle of a bad skid right now. They just got swept by the Phillies so there is not much to be hopeful about. However, Mason Black did show some promise in his first ever MLB start which is encouraging.

Despite rough finish, Mason Black shows promise in SF Giants debut

Through the first few innings of Black's debut on Monday in Philadelphia, you would not have guessed he was a rookie making his first career appearance. He looked sharp and was making fairly easy work of a Phillies lineup that is one of the best in all of baseball.

He also had countless friends and family cheering him on from the stands as this game was a homecoming of sorts since he grew up near Philadelphia.

Of course, reality eventually set it as Black got roughed up a bit later in his outing. As he went through the order the second and third time, it was clear that opposing hitters were beginning to figure him out a little bit more. Eventually in the fifth, the Phillies started to get more and more runners on base and Bryce Harper delivered the knock out blow with the three run homer. With how feeble the Giants offense is, it seemed clear that Black would end up with a loss in his first career game.

Some may argue that manager Bob Melvin tried to get too much out of Black in his first career game. With the Giants bullpen reeling and Black's pitch count still within reason, it was reasonable to send him out to pitch the 5th inning.

One could easily dwell on the negative finish to his first start, but in a time where there are so few positive or exciting things about the Giants let's try to focus on the good from his start. He really did look great those first few innings. Sure, he left a few pitches over the plate and got lucky they didn't get hit hard, but he also had good command for most of his outing. It definitely makes his next start something to look forward to.

These starts are going to be important for Black because he could definitely factor into the team's plans going forward. The Giants have a really exciting crop of young pitchers. Next year they could have a rotation of Webb, Hicks, Harrison, Winn, and potentially Black. With what we have seen early this year, that group could end up being a formidable rotation.

While Black's start did not end how he or the Giants would have liked, he showed enough to warrant getting excited about his potential as a big league pitcher going forward.