Hayden Birdsong and the Giants’ Young Arms Break Into the Rotation

With the injury to Justin Verlander and the removal of Jordan Hicks from the starting rotation the San Francisco Giants have fully embraced the youth movement. Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp, and Kyle Harrison are all in the starting rotation together for the first time in their young careers—three guys who have proved their worth and earned a shot in the rotation. 

Hayden Birdsong and The Giants’ Young Arms Break Into the Rotation

Hayden Birdsong Chaotic But Exciting

Birdsong came on the scene late last year and looked extremely promising. He dominated spring training, earning a spot with the team in the bullpen, and after a couple of appearances, he was finally able to force his way into a starting role. Manager Bob Melvin could no longer hold back the young gun from getting his chance in a major role. So far this season, Birdsong has a 2.48 ERA and a 3.80 FIP, with a strikeout percentage of 25 percent. He’s so electric when he steps on the mound, gunning down batters and sending them back to the bench. His analytics are some of the best in baseball, and one specific pitch stands above the rest. 

Birdsong’s changeup has been the crown jewel of his arsenal. Seemingly, nobody can hit his changeup, and it’s all because of his interesting grip. He throws a kick change with a grip that has his middle finger curled up on the top of the ball. It’s strange to look at, but it sure is effective, generating a 45% whiff percentage. This pitch generates a lot of swings and misses, which helps Birdsong strike out as many batters as he does.

Another metric to determine how great a pitch is is Stuff+ on FanGraphs. According to their numbers, Birdsong has the best changeup in baseball with a 130 Stuff +. The way his changeup flies in the air makes it one of the hardest pitches to hit in baseball.

Now, the bad with Birdsong is his walk rate at 8.6 percent. He has a lack of control with his deadly arsenal, and in some outings, it can all go wrong for him. His game against the Diamondbacks a few weeks back was a disaster, walking two batters and giving up two home runs. His pitches can get away from him, and that causes problems. Birdsong is already so good in his young career, and the promising thing is that he has so much room to grow. He has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the major leagues very soon. 

The Landen Roupp Breakout Is Here!

Roupp came out of nowhere this year and earned a spot in the starting rotation. The 12th-round pick out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington has dominated the big leagues. Over spring training, Roupp was playing like the best pitcher on the roster, and Buster Posey rewarded him with a spot in the starting rotation.

So far, Roupp has a 3.54 ERA and a 3.59 FIP, with a strikeout percentage of 22.6%. These are fantastic numbers for someone in their first year of starting pitching. Over his last three starts, he has a 0.56 ERA with 14 strikeouts, shutting out two solid teams, the Nationals and Athletics. Roupp is developing into a solid rotational piece for the Giants. 

Roupp throws a commanding curveball that shakes batters out of their shoes. He generates a 42 percent whiff percentage on the pitch he uses over 40% of the time. It’s his old reliable that he has used his entire life. Once again, looking towards FanGraph’s Stuff+, his curveball is a 106, with 100 being average; he’s six points above that on this pitch. It’s great to see that a pitch he relies on so much is elite.

Roupp has a lot of time to grow, and like Birdsong, he walks too many batters, which gets him into trouble. But Roupp has a chance to be a mainstay in this rotation for a long time, if he’s able to progressively improve the rest of his pitch mix around the curveball. 

Welcome Back, Kyle Harrison

Harrison struggled last year with a 4.56 ERA and was never able to get into a groove. His fastball was one of his best pitches coming up through the minor leagues, but was extremely disappointing last year, sitting at an average velocity of 92. Harrison had to start the year in Triple-A to re-earn a role with the big league roster, and he dominated.

Through six games in the minor leagues, he had a 13.2 K/9, which is astronomically good. His fastball has also returned to glory, with his velocity jumping up three miles per hour, sitting at 95. He’s back to being the lefty that throws gas. With Verlander going on the IL-15, Harrison got his opportunity to become a starting pitcher for the Giants once again in this rotation. Harrison has got to make the most of this shot and prove he belongs in the big leagues.

Main Image: David Banks-Imagn Images