Surprising SF Giants pitcher dubbed 'most pivotal player' in NL West

The SF Giants enter spring training with a lot of question marks. One of them is what the team will get out of its young starting pitchers which is why beat reporter Andrew Baggarly made a bold claim about one of them.

In a recent column, Baggarly made a staggering claim: “It’s weird to think that Hayden Birdsong could be the most pivotal player in the NL West. There’s also a pretty good chance that he is.”

SF Giants pitcher Hayden Birdsong seen as most pivotal pitcher in NL West

That’s pretty bold considering the talent in the NL West. The best player in the game, Shohei Ohtani, is in the division as are the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr. among other superstars.

But Baggarly’s point is that Birdsong has a ton of potential, arguably the most of any young Giants pitcher, and how he fares this season could determine a lot for the Giants. 

Just think about it. The Giants have a shaky starting rotation at best. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray comprise a solid top two, but after that things get hairy. Landen Roupp looked really good when he was healthy last season, but knee and elbow issues derailed his year. Who knows how he’ll look coming off those ailments.

Both Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle have proven they can be very solid big league starters when they are healthy and on their game, but it would be foolhardy to suggest that either one is going to make 30-something starts this season. In a best case scenario, the Giants will probably have to scramble and figure out who will take the ball in 10-15 starts this season assuming injuries. The number could easily be higher than that.

This is why Baggarly believes Birdsong is so pivotal. He is a guy who has flashed truly dominant stuff in his first two big league seasons. During his rookie year in 2024 he looked great at times and definitely looked like a future rotation fixture. It seemed like he stayed on that same trajectory in 2025 after a great start in the bullpen earned him a promotion to the rotation.

That’s where things went bad, though.

He ended up losing his command and did not regain it even after getting sent down the Triple-A to get sorted out. He has reportedly made some mechanical adjustments that should help him this season, but the question is whether they will last over the course of a full season.

In many ways this year is a make or break one for Birdsong. The 24-year-old is in a similar position to the one Logan Webb was entering the 2021 season. Webb had shown promise in his first two seasons but it was unclear whether he was going to be part of the future. He had a stellar 2021 and never looked back. Maybe Birdsong can do the same in 2026.

It may be a bit hyperbolic to say Birdsong is the most pivotal player in the whole division, but Baggarly’s point is well taken at least as his importance pertains to San Francisco’s chance at relevancy this season.