SF Giants catcher says young arm has "some of the best stuff in the game"

The SF Giants have plenty of exciting young arms in their organization, but catcher Patrick Bailey singled out right-hander Hayden Birdsong, saying he has "some of the best stuff in the game." That is high praise.

Bailey made this comment in the most recent episode of NBC Sports Bay Area's Giants Talk podcast. Bailey was asked about plenty of topics including his Gold Glove win, his struggles at the plate last season, and what it has been like to work with future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander so the full interview is well worth a listen.

However, his comments on Birdsong really stood out. Here is what he said in full when asked about what he wants to see from Birdsong in his second season: "Just, how many strikes he can throw. I think he's got some of the best stuff in the game. He's a really, really good competitor and it's just, trust the stuff. You've seen that you're gonna get whiff in the big leagues and he can get the best hitters in the world to look silly and it's just how many competitive pitches can you throw?"

SF Giants catcher Patrick Bailey praises Hayden Birdsong

The 23-year-old Birdsong did indeed show a lot of promise last season. He had a 4.75 ERA in 16 starts and 72 innings pitched, but the 88 strikeouts in those 72 innings is a very promising sign. He did have 43 walks though which is clearly why Bailey is emphasizing his ability to consistently throw strikes, but with his high-90's fastball and impressive breaking stuff we know that when he is on he can be a headache for opposing batters.

The Illinois native also has a new mentor in Justin Verlander who has not been shy about giving Birdsong pointers in camp thus far. Birdsong is competing against Kyle Harrison and Landen Roupp for the fifth spot in the team's rotation, but even if he starts the season in Triple-A it seems more than likely that we will see a fair amount of Birdsong throughout the regular season.

It is not a surprise that Bailey would praise his young starter, but his belief that his stuff is among the best in the game shows that the raw potential is there for Birdsong to be a really good pitcher. We will have to see if he can take a big leap in year two.