SF Giants Triple-A affiliate will carry a lot of starting pitching depth to start the year

The SF Giants Triple-A club, the Sacramento River Cats, should begin the year with a good bit of rotation depth. Kyle Harrison and Carson Whisenhunt will lead the way, but they will have several more options who are either on the 40-man roster, have already reached the majors, or both.

SF Giants Triple-A affiliate will carry a lot of starting pitching depth to start the year

Harrison falls into that both category. He debuted with the Giants in 2023 and spent all of last season in the rotation. The young lefty has posted a 4.47 ERA in parts of two seasons with San Francisco, but will return to Sacramento where he spent much of the 2023 season.

He entered the spring as the presumed favorite to win that final rotation spot. However, he battled an illness early in camp that delayed his 2025 Cactus League debut. Plus, Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong both had a strong showing this spring, so that forced the issue with Harrison.

The Giants hope that Harrison can get back to where he was two seasons ago when he sat consistently in the mid-90's with his four-seamer. Plus, he will need to mix in his secondary offerings more confidently.

Harrison will be joined by another lefty in Carson Whisenhunt in the rotation. Whisenhunt quietly had a solid season last year with Sacramento despite an ERA that sat above five. He displayed some pretty extreme splits on the road where the ballparks have higher elevations, making it a difficult environment to pitch. The Giants top pitching prospect was much better at home.

Whisenhunt flashes a mid-90's four-seam fastball that he tunnels well with an elite changeup. He mixed in a slider more regularly last year. The key for him will be showing improvement in his walk totals. He tallied 4.6 BB/9 last year, which is just too high of a number to stick as a starter.

Several rotation candidates will join Harison and Whisenhint, including Trevor McDonald, Carson Seymour, Carson Ragsdale, Keaton Winn, Mason Black, and even John Michael Bertrand. This is where it begins to get tricky, and highlights the Giants' rotation depth.

Perhaps, going with a piggyback approach or two will allow everyone to get the innings they need. McDonald still has little mileage on his arm, so the key will be getting him stretched out to build up his arm strength. He registered a 4.72 ERA in 10 outings with Sacramento last season.

Ragsdale has racked up huge strikeout totals in the minors, averaging 12.3 K/9 across four seasons. His control is a work in progress. On the other hand, Seymour has a four-pitch mix that includes two different looks from his fastball with a slider and changeup. His arm strength is built up to be able to handle a full workload out of the rotation.

That leaves Winn, Black, and Bertrand. Winn missed the second half of last year after undergoing an elbow procedure. His fastball still sits in the mid-90s with an above-average splitter and an occasional slider.

Black got off to a strong start with the River Cats last year before earning a promotion to the major league roster. His performance in Triple-A waned as the season progressed, but he had a couple of nice starts with the Giants to finish the year.

This is not a bad problem to have. However, the Giants want all of their starting pitcher options to build up innings in the minors. That is easier said than done, but there are a few tricks the Giants could employ such as piggyback starts or going with a six-man rotation.