What young SF Giants pitcher needs to do to stick as a starter

Earlier this week, young SF Giants pitcher Trevor McDonald had yet another solid outing in the majors. He relies on a good sinker-slider combination to get outs, but will need to leverage a third pitch against left-handed hitters.

What young SF Giants pitcher needs to do to stick as a starter

McDonald has often saved some of his best starts for when he puts on Giants uniform. Perhaps, that is him making a case to stick on the major league roster, or a subtle sign that he never wants to return to the Pacific Coast League (PCL).

The PCL is a brutal environment for pitchers. The ball tends to jump out of those ballparks due to the high elevation in which they reside, and the strike zone has become more favorable in recent years due to the ABS system, leading to a lot of walks.

On that latter note, this is the first year that they are using the ABS challenge system in the majors, and that has led to an increase in walk rates across the league. Of course, that applies to all teams not named the Giants. Walk rates are increasing, but the Giants are trending to put up one of the lowest walk rates in recent memory.

Last season, it felt like the PCL was picking on McDonald. He had a 5.31 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 2.32 SO/W rate, and a 53.3 percent ground ball rate in 142.1 innings with the Sacramento River Cats. This included a 1.4 HR/9 rate, nearly double his career 0.8 HR/9 rate across seven minor league seasons. The spike in home run rate was due to an unusually high 21.2 HR/FB rate, which some view as a product of bad luck.

That idea is that pitchers can, to some degree, control the batted balls that they allow in the air, but cannot always control when they leave the ballpark. This is especially true in the PCL.

McDonald has only made a handful of appearances in a Giants uniform. In five outings, he has posted a 1.44 ERA with 23 strikeouts and only three walks in 25 innings. That type of production should warrant a more extended look, but that has not yet been the case. That could change if one of Adrian Houser or Tyler Mahle continue to struggle. McDonald would seemingly be the next in line.

The right-handed pitcher has a template for how to get outs. He throws a heavy sinker that gets a lot of contact on the ground. When McDonald needs a strikeout, he relies on his slider to get hitters to swing and miss.

For much of his pro career, he has been a sinker-slider pitcher. He has a changeup, and has introduced a cutter into his pitch mix. Interestingly, the only run he allowed against the San Diego Padres earlier this week came off of his changeup. That pitch is clearly one of his options to use against left-handed hitters, but at times, it is a bit too firm. There is not enough of a separation in velocity between his sinker and changeup.

The development of that pitch, or the cutter, might be his meal ticket to sticking as a starter. He has the foundation in place, with his sinker and slider. Teams are going to stack left-handed hitters against him, and he will need to find a way to get them out.

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