Top SF Giants pitching prospect dazzles in 2025 debut

Lefty pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt returned to the Sacramento River Cats for a second season. He was excellent in his 2025 debut and could pitch his way onto the SF Giants if he shows continued improvement in his control.

Top SF Giants pitching prospect dazzles in 2025 debut

On the surface, the 2024 season appeared to be a year of mixed results for Whisenhunt. He pitched to a 5.42 ERA in 25 starts with the River Cats, which seems high, but it was slightly above the 5.25 ERA recorded by Pacific Coast League (PCL) pitching.

A peak beneath the hood sheds a more realistic picture of Whisenhunt's performance last year. He struggled to the tune of an 8.31 ERA on the road compared to a 2.34 ERA at home. The difference is due to a few factors, but some of the PCL ballparks are not conducive to pitching due to their high elevations.

On the other hand, Sacramento's home ballpark, Sutter Health Park, is one of the more fairer ballparks in the league while sitting just 20 feet above sea level. It is also plays more like a major league ballpark than some of the other stadiums in the PCL.

On Sunday, Whisenhunt made his 2025 debut at home and saw similar results to what he saw last year. He yielded just two earned runs with nine strikeouts across 4.2 innings in a 2-1 loss against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Importantly, he registered a 4.6 BB/9 with the River Cats last season, but did not issue a walk on Sunday while throwing 65 pitches, 49 of which went for strikes.

Whisenhunt only went one appearance without walking a batter last season. Oddly enough, it happened to be the first start of the year. The Giants want him to attack the strike zone more efficiently in 2025, and he did just that. In fact, that could be the final hurdle the lefty prospect needs to jump over before he positions himself for a promotion, but it will take more than one start to prove he has made a sustainable improvement.

The 24-year-old pitcher continued to flash an impressive changeup that he pairs with a low-90's sinker and an occasional slider. He threw the changeup 33 times on Sunday, registering three called strikes and 14 swings-and-misses. It displayed late, fading action that is difficult for opposing hitters to pick up because he tunnels it well with his sinker.

Interestingly, Trevor McDonald completed four scoreless innings later in the game. The Giants have a lot of starting pitching depth in Triple-A, so they will need to get creative to get everyone innings, such as by using piggyback starts.