SF Giants prospect dealt in Devers trade looks primed for breakout year with Brewers

The SF Giants traded away left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison to the Boston Red Sox last year in the trade that brought slugger Rafael Devers to San Francisco. Harrison is now with the Milwaukee Brewers and he appears to be primed for a breakout year with his new club.

For those who missed it, the Red Sox traded Harrison and others to the Brewers in a six-player trade. It makes one wonder what the Red Sox are doing after they have gotten rid of almost every player they acquired from San Francisco in the Devers trade, but maybe the Brewers will be the biggest beneficiary of the deal in a roundabout way.

Kyle Harrison has a new pitch and looks good so far with Brewers

Harrison made his debut with Milwaukee on Tuesday in an exhibition game against Team Great Britain as it prepares for the World Baseball Classic. The San Jose native pitched three innings and allowed two hits and one walk while not allowing any runs as he struck out two batters. It was a solid performance and he debuted the new changeup that he has been working on.

Giants fans who became familiar with Harrison over the years will remember how his fastball was his most important pitch. With his deceptive delivery he was able to blow guys away when he located it up in the zone which is why there was always so much talk about his velocity. If it was at 95 MPH and above then he could be really dangerous, but if it was closer to 90 MPH then he became a lot more pedestrian.

Adding an effective new pitch into the mix could help take him to the next level. We saw how dominant Tim Lincecum could be with a 95 MPH fastball and a wicked changeup so that can be a pretty devastating one-two punch when used effectively.

It will be interesting to see how Harrison fares this year with a new pitch and a new team. Last season with Boston he had a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings pitched and had middling stats in 2023 through 2025 with the Giants.

This could be the year he takes the next step forward and proves that he can be a consistent, effective starter at the big league level. If he does, maybe the Giants will look at him as the one that got away.