SF Giants' patience in young pitcher is beginning to pay off

Young SF Giants pitcher Landen Roupp has put together a solid May, posting a 1.64 ERA through 22 frames this month. The Giants remained patient with his struggles in April, and that looks to be paying off.

SF Giants' patience in young pitcher is beginning to pay off

I am using patience in a relative sense. After all, the season is still young, as the Giants have just crossed the 50-game mark. However, the Giants had been a little more reactive to slumps in recent seasons than they are this year.

Roupp hit a brief, rough patch at the end of April. In his final four starts of that month, he posted a 5.85 ERA in 20.0 innings. That type of performance normally led to a change in recent seasons. Players needed to perform or else they would be relegated to the bullpen or optioned back to Triple-A.

I do think patience has been a strength with Buster Posey in charge of the front office now. Players get to a chance to fail, learn from that failure, and try to work out of it. There is more of a sense of stability and trust in players, and that is a good thing.

With Roupp, he had a 5.10 ERA through the first month of the year. That said, the underlying numbers were much more encouraging, as he had a 3.53 FIP and 3.79 xFIP during that stretch. His ERA was inflated by an unusually high .378 BABIP, compared to a league .289 BABIP. Every time a hitter made contact, he found a hole in the defense.

Unsurprisingly, Roupp has allowed a .250 BABIP through four May starts. Overall, his .318 BABIP is still a bit higher, but it looks to be coming down close to the league mark.

The right-handed hurler's underlying numbers support his 3.63 ERA through 10 starts this season. He has a 3.60 xERA, 3.73 FIP, and 3.65 xFIP. All numbers are pointing to him being a quality pitcher.

When the season began, I believed that the year's success would hinge partly on Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison's ability to solidify their hold on a rotation spot. The same applies to Roupp because there is a market efficiency in building a rotation with young, homegrown arms.

There is a good chance that the 26-year-old pitcher will reach an innings limit well before the season ends, as he has never thrown more than 107.1 innings in a season as a pro. However, if Roupp can continue on this trajectory, it would give the Giants confidence that he can be part of the solution in the rotation, too. For now, the Giants' patience with him is starting to pay off.