The San Francisco Giants pitching staff is facing serious injury issues right now, and it could lead to some prospects being rushed into playing at the MLB level before they are ready.
They are currently working with a two-man rotation and will be without a starting pitcher ready to pitch after Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Alex Pavlovic of NBCS stated on the game’s broadcast that the Giants may need to call up one or two Triple-A pitchers as “they just need people who can throw innings.”
“They’re trying to sort through right now, and Bob Melvin said today they’re still trying to sort through what they can do for the next three games. Spencer Howard will probably be the bolt guy tomorrow, but after that, a couple days they have to figure out until they get back to Jordan Hicks on Thursday.”
Among potential options listed for San Francisco were Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour, Mason Black and Kai-Wei Teng.
The best option among those names is the left-handed Whisenhunt, who is the No. 2 prospect in the Giant’s farm system.
The 23-year-old was a second round selection in the 2022 MLB draft. In his first Triple-A season he has a 4.87 ERA and 1.574 WHIP. He strikes out a lot of batters, but has struggled with command. That’s been the case for pretty much his entire baseball career.
Seymour is a 25-year-old prospect who is in his first season at the Triple-A level. He has a 4.33 ERA and 1.604 WHIP.
Next up is Black, a 2021 draft pick. He’s the No. 7 Giants prospect and has already been given a chance in the Majors this season, but it didn’t go well. In four appearances back in May, he had a 8.79 ERA across 14.1 innings pitched.
The 24-year-old walked seven batters while striking out just 10 and gave up a staggering four home runs. His walk issues have persisted in the minors, but he at least has been more of a strikeout-heavy pitcher there.
Teng is another pitcher who already got called up for a short stint this season but was quickly sent back down when things went sideways.
In just 11 innings pitched over four starts, he had a 9.82 ERA and 2.091 WHIP. He averaged 6.5 BB/9 and just 5.7 K/9. The numbers have not been much better in the minors this year, falling off a cliff after a couple of promising seasons.
He’s the No. 22 prospect in the farm but throwing him out on the mound right now seems like it would be a recipe for disaster.
Whisenhunt and Seymour could make sense as they haven’t gotten a chance to prove themselves in the MLB and have at least been a bit promising.
Black and Teng have been poor in their chances and are clearly not ready, but could be the options they turn to by default.
Whatever decision the Giants make, they need to hope their staff can return to health.
Blake Snell and Robbie Ray could be making their way back soon, but may not factor into these next few games due to rest.
