SF Giants get encouraging injury news on young starting pitcher

SF Giants pitcher Landen Roupp had to be removed from Wednesday's 8-1 loss to the San Diego Padres after taking a comebacker off the leg and landing awkwardly while trying to avoid the ball. According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, Roupp underwent an MRI, revealing only a bone bruise.

SF Giants get encouraging injury news on young starting pitcher

Pavlovic adds that Roupp is seeking a second opinion. The injury looked much worse than a bone bruise, so this is a rather encouraging update.

Roupp has already been placed on the injured list, with Carson Whisenhunt taking his spot on the roster. Whisenhunt threw on Friday night, allowing two earned runs in four innings in a 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. The southpaw pitching prospect will likely remain in the rotation for now.

For Roupp, he had been one of the more promising stories of this season for San Francisco. He entered this year as a bit of an unknown after winning the final rotation spot in spring training.

The right-handed pitcher rewarded the Giants' decision by putting together a strong year on the mound. Overall, he has pitched to a 3.80 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.48 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, and a 2.27 SO/W rate across 106.2 innings. Roupp has also been effective at limiting the long ball, with a 0.9 HR/9 rate.

Roupp experienced inflammation in his right elbow at the end of July. This caused him to miss a few starts. His ERA jumped from 3.11 to 3.80 after allowing 10 earned runs across 5.1 innings in his last two starts. Roupp did not have the same sharpness upon returning from the injured list.

The 26-year-old pitcher has never thrown more than 107.1 innings as a pro, but he is right up against that mark this season. If he can return before the end of the year, the Giants likely want to see him continue getting stretched out.

Regardless, there are a lot of questions about the 2026 rotation heading into next season. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray have their names etched in stone for the rotation, but Roupp has thrown well enough to take hold of a rotation spot as well.

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