SF Giants catcher Patrick Bailey says top pitching prospects are "really exciting"

The SF Giants have many exciting young pitching prospects in their organization. The man they may be throwing to one day, catcher Patrick Bailey, recently spoke about some of these young prospects and said that they are all "really exciting."

SF Giants catcher Patrick Bailey says top pitching prospects are "really exciting"

Bailey said this while appearing on NBC Sports Bay Area's Giants Talk podcast. He was asked by reporters about his initial thoughts about some of the younger arms in the organization and had positive things to say about all of them.

When asked about Carson Whisenhunt, a left-handed pitcher who has shown a lot of promise, Bailey admitted that he has not spent a ton of time with Whisenhunt but that he knows his changeup is exceptional.

Baseball Prospectus ranked Whisenhunt No. 68 in their top-101 prospect rankings, so it may not be long before the lefty is throwing to Bailey at the big league level.

Another prospect Bailey talked about was Hayden Birdsong. Birdsong is another exciting young pitcher, a right-hander who Bailey noted has a big fastball and who has looked good in Spring Training so far.

The prospect Bailey has had the most experience with is Mason Black, who may be the closest to the big leagues off all these young prospects. Bailey lauded Black's fastball and said he does a good job of hiding it with his delivery so opposing hitters have a difficult time picking it up. Black pairs his fastball with a slider that sweeps across the plate with a changeup that he has had more confidence in lately.

With the lack of depth that the Giants have in their starting pitching and the injuries that Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck have sustained, Black is a guy we could see early in the season if some starters are not ready to go.

Bailey highlighted the promise and excitement that a lot of these young pitchers bring to the table. However, one of the biggest criticisms of the Giants this offseason is that they have not upgraded their rotation enough and will have to go the first half of the season with a very inexperienced group outside of Logan Webb.

There is still time to add someone like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, but the clock is ticking as Opening Day approaches and the rotation gets more unclear.

Whether the Giants sign or do not sign a pitcher, we can still expect to see some of these prospects make their debut quite soon, perhaps even in 2024.