SF Giants workhorse pitcher looks to be rebounding after slow start

Logan Webb had some uncharacteristically poor starts earlier in the year before landing on the injured list with a knee ailment. Since returning, the SF Giants workhorse has looked more like himself on the mound.

There is a good chance that the knee injury was affecting his performance. That said, it was odd to see his ERA hovering above five after eight starts. That number has declined rapidly in three starts since returning.

Overall, Webb has a 3.88 ERA, 3.18 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, and a 3.05 SO/W rate across 11 outings. There is still work to be done, but at the start of the year, there was a subtle concern about whether the massive workload the 29-year-old pitcher has assumed in recent years has finally caught up to him.

Since 2021, Webb has thrown more innings than any pitcher in baseball at 1,035.2 innings. Former Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman (1,005.2 innings) is not far behind in that category, but there is pretty large gap between them and the rest of the group.

The 2021 season was also the last time that Webb has landed on the injured list before this year. He has surpassed 30 starts with ease over the past few seasons, but that mark will be harder to reach this time around.

While Webb did not have the shiniest ERA through eight starts, there were plenty of underlying metrics to suggest he had some bad luck. His 3.57 FIP and 3.42 xFIP both pointed to a pitcher that was throwing better than his 5.06 ERA would suggest. Plus, Webb had an unusually low 63.7 percent loeft-on-base, which is often associated with bad luck.

Since Webb's return from the injured list, he has looked more like his old self. He had pitched to a 0.93 ERA across 19.1 frames. This even includes an outing at Coors Field.

On Monday night, the bullpen was gassed from the 10-game road trip. They needed Webb to eat up some innings, and he did just that. He allowed one earned run across eight innings, and there is a case to be made that he could have finished the game after throwing 99 pitches.

Unfortunately, Monday night's game was another painful reminder about the front office's lack of activity in upgrading the bullpen. The Giants blew the game in the ninth inning. Despite that, it was a vintage night for Webb, and the Giants hope that it is a sign of things to come.

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