Real question for SF Giants is which starter will be No. 2 in the rotation?

The SF Giants announced that starting pitcher Logan Webb will take the ball on Opening Day for the team for the fourth consecutive season. This is not a surprise, but the real battle will be for who starts the second game of the season.

Webb is clearly the ace of the staff and deserves to be the Opening Day starter. He is coming off his first All-Star season and has proven to be one of the most consistent and reliable pitcher in all of baseball.

He was never a point of consternation for the team coming into the season, but the rest of the rotation has plenty of potential as well as many pitfalls.

Who will be the No. 2 pitcher in the rotation for the SF Giants?

The top two candidates for the Giants to follow Webb in the rotation are veterans Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander. Both can be unquestionably great when they are healthy and on their game, but both have had a lot of injury issues in recent years which is a definite cause for concern.

The 33-year-old Ray won the American League Cy Young Award with Toronto in 2021 and followed that up with a solid 2022 campaign, but since then he has only made eight starts over the last two years due to Tommy John surgery.

He looked good at times in his seven starts with the Giants last season, but staying healthy is going to be the biggest concern for the lefty.

Some managers like having a starting rotation that alternates between right-handed and left-handed pitchers, so if that is manager Bob Melvin's preference then Ray could get the nod since he is left-hander and would provide a totally different look for opposing lineups after having to face a right-handed sinkerballer in Webb.

On the other hand, Justin Verlander would not be a bad option for that No. 2 spot in the rotation either. Even though he just turned 42, he is just a couple seasons removed from having a 3.22 ERA in 27 starts in 2023 and the year before that he was the American League Cy Young Award winner with a staggering 1.75 ERA in 28 starts. Verlander is already embracing his role as a mentor on the team, but the Giants would not have signed him if they did not feel he had some juice left in the tank.

Even though the future Hall-of-Famer is a right-handed pitcher, he still provides a much different look than Webb. When he is right, he attacks opponents with his 4-seam fastball and throws his breaking ball pitches to finish guys off. Facing Webb and a healthy Verlander back-to-back would not be a fun assignment for many teams.

While there are still a lot of question marks for the Giants other than Webb when it comes to the rotation, spring training could end up deciding who will get the nod in the team's second game in Cincinnati in the regular season.