Trio of SF Giants pitching prospects earn Pitcher of the Month honors for May

May was a strong month for a handful of SF Giants pitching prospects. Carson Whisenhunt (Pacific Coast League), Joe Whitman (Eastern League), and Braydon Risely (California League) all earned Pitcher of the Month honors last month.

Whisenhunt could be pushing for a promotion soon enough, but they need a rotation spot to open up for that to happen. Adrian Houser has struggled in his first season with San Francisco, but the Giants do not seem like they are ready to make a move yet. That could change quickly if he has a couple more bad outings.

That would open up an opportunity for Whisenhunt. The southpaw pitcher completed one of his best months yet in the PCL. He pitched to a 2.81 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 11 walks in 32 innings of work. Whisenhunt did not allow more than one run in four of his six starts in May.

Whisenhunt has shifted his pitch mix to lean more on his fastball than in the past. He is throwing that pitch more than 50 percent of the time, and he is maintaining velocity deeper into starts. The changeup remains his go-to secondary, but the slider has developed into a more reliable third option.

A trio of SF Giants southpaw pitchers earn Pitcher of the Month honors for May

On the other hand, Joe Whitman's quality stretch in May led to a promotion to Triple-A. He made his debut with the Sacramento River Cats on Friday, collecting six scoreless innings in a 4-0 win.

Whitman had his best stretch yet as a pro in May. He made five starts for the Richmond Flying Squirrels and pitched to a 0.96 ERA with 37 strikeouts against five walks in 28 innings. Whitman did not allow an earned run in four of his five starts.

Similar to Whisenhunt, Whitman is looking for a viable third pitch to stick as a starter. He is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher. The fastball sits in the low 90's and gets a healthy amount of ground balls, whereas the slider sits in the low 80's gets good, two-plane movement. Whitman throws a changeup, and it has shown some promise, but he is still working on the feel of it.

Lastly, Braydon Risely is having a successful run in his first turn through pro ball. He has been one of the San Jose Giants' best pitchers. This included a stretch in May where he posted a 1.48 ERA with 23 strikeouts and seven walks in 24.1 innings.

Risely was a 19th-round pick out of Tarleton State University last year. He has a 2.98 ERA in 10 appearances with San Jose this year.

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