Young SF Giants hurler has struggled in rotation audition for 2027

There is a clear path to starts down the stretch for Carson Whisenhunt. However, the young SF Giants hurler has struggled during this audition, posting a 7.03 ERA in seven starts this year.

Those struggles continued on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians, as Whisenhunt yielded seven runs, including six earned, while walking two and striking out one in four innings of work. He gave up a home run to the third batter of the game, Jo Adell, and the game felt out of reach after that. Adell finished with three hits and six RBI in four at-bats in an 8-1 victory.

The Giants' only offense came off the bat of Bryce Eldridge, who blasted a solo shot. In a cool moment late in the game, Turner Hill roped a double down the right field line in front of a lot of friends and family. He grew up and played college baseball in Ohio, so this was a full-circle moment for the rookie outfielder.

On the other hand, Whisenhunt is not making much of a case for 2027, and the Giants will need a lot of starting pitching to fill out the rotation. Logan Webb will anchor that unit again. Landen Roupp and Adrian Houser can pretty comfortably be penciled into that as well. How many good starts the Giants get from both remains to be seen.

SF Giants southpaw pitcher has a major league changeup, but the rest of the arsenal leaves something to be desired

There is plenty of room for someone else to pitch their way into the rotation. Following the Tyler Mahle and Robbie Ray trades, the Giants have a couple of open spots. Whisenhunt is one of the first to get a chance.

So far, it has been a struggle. He has posted a 7.03 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 20 walks in 32 innings of work. To put it differently, he is not striking out enough batters and he is allowing too many free passes.

Of course, the southpaw's changeup does the heavy lifting in his arsenal. He throws that pitch nearly 40 percent of the time and has generated a 40.5 percent whiff rate. However, a lack of a second pitch makes it hard to stick as a starter.

Whisenhunt has seen an uptick in fastball velocity this year, but struggles to maintain it into his starts. The pitch shape has improved as well. His mid 80's slider can be effective, but he is not landing it consistently in the strike zone.

The changeup is a major league pitch, and an effective one at that. That should keep him in the majors, even if it is a bullpen role. Whisenhunt still has six more weeks remaining to make a good impression for 2027, but he will need to turn it around soon.

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