The Giants believe their ‘sweet spot’ is young pitching talent. Meet the trio hoping to prove it

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Along a wall in the Giants’ clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium, the fiercest competition in training camp is on full display. Candidates for the final rotation spot have their lockers bunched together, which could be awkward considering they’re fighting each other for a job they all covet.

In reality, it doesn’t feel that strained, because they’ll all tell you they get along and pull for one another. A friendly competition, if you will. Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp are roommates during spring training, and both are Kyle Harrison’s buddies.

They occupy three of five lockers on the wall, with the other two belonging to Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck, both pitchers trying to win jobs in the big leagues.

Together they comprise what the Giants consider their best asset: young pitching depth. And manager Bob Melvin, who has participated in dozens of spring trainings, said it’s one of the best groups he has seen.

“Right up there. Not only do we have guys competing here that are talented, but we have that next wave with all the Carsons,” said Melvin, referring to prospects Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour, and Carson Ragsdale. “That’s kind of where the sweet spot of the organization is right now, the starting pitching depth with younger guys.”

The Giants didn’t re-sign two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and missed out on Japanese ace Roki Sasaki, both of whom signed with the Dodgers. The Corbin Burnes pursuit also didn’t go the Giants’ way; he signed with the Diamondbacks.

But those free agency whiffs haven’t left president of baseball operations Buster Posey and his front office in a state of disarray. That’s because of their belief in the pitchers coming up. The Giants are betting on youth, and the stakes are high. Seeing a few of their young arms reach their potential will go a long way to determining the franchise’s success in the coming years.

For now, the rotation is Logan Webb, Justin Verlander, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, and whoever wins the fifth spot. Here’s a look at the top three candidates looking to break camp as the final starter.

Largely a two-pitch pitcher as a rookie last year, Roupp relied on his extremely effective curveball, which he threw 44.1% of the time, and his sinker, which served as 40.5% of his arsenal. To be a more well-rounded starter, Roupp is trying to rely on a cutter and changeup as well, giving him a four-pitch mix to keep hitters guessing.

“Adding the two extra pitches can keep guys off the curveball,” said Roupp, who’s 26, three years older than Harrison and Birdsong. “The cutter and changeup have really helped.”

Roupp posted a 3.58 ERA last season in 23 outings, including four September starts. He mixed in a changeup late last season and liked the results. Picking up some pointers while studying Webb’s changeup grip has been beneficial.

“I’ve always thrown a changeup,” Roupp said, “but it’s never been consistent. I played around with so many grips. Now I’m where I don’t need to change the grip anymore.”

As for the cutter, Roupp spoke with pitching coach J.P. Martinez about adding it to his repertoire and dropping his slider, which he threw just 4.2% of the time. Consequently, early in spring, he learned a cutter grip from bullpen coach Garvin Alston.

“It’s felt really good since Day 1,” Roupp said. “Now it’s about hitting my spots and knowing what counts to throw it in and what batters to throw it to. It takes a lot of reps and trial and error.”

No matter what Roupp adds or subtracts, his main pitch will remain the curve.

“I‘ve been throwing it my entire life,” he said. “It’s always been a plus pitch for me as far as being able to locate it whenever I want. I throw a sinker at 94, 95, and curve at 78, so the velo drop is a big difference for hitters. Obviously, it’s gotten better as the years have gone on, but I’ve been grippin’ it and rippin’ it since I can remember.”

In four Cactus League starts, Roupp has struck out 14 batters and issued one walk across 12 innings.

Like Roupp, Birdsong got his first taste of the majors last year, with a midseason call-up. He was 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in five July starts, but his ERA was 6.05 in August and September. While his fastball sizzled in the high 90s, leading to 88 strikeouts in 72 innings, he missed on too many pitches and averaged 5.4 walks per nine innings, the highest mark on the staff except for Camilo Doval.

To improve in 2025, Birdsong has made two major changes. He moved his feet on the pitching rubber from the first-base side to the third-base side to create a more difficult fastball-slider angle for right-handed hitters. And in an effort to throw more strikes, he’s pitching out of the windup after working exclusively from the stretch in recent years — even when the bases were empty.

This marks the first time since his days at Eastern Illinois University, that Birdsong is pitching from the windup. After he turned pro in 2022, the Giants had him pitch only from the stretch because of chronic wildness. “Too many moving parts. I wasn’t in sync,” he said. “It was just not good. So I simplified everything and kept it short.”

The change has made a difference so far. Birdsong’s strike percentage is up — he struck out 10 batters and walked none in his first three Cactus League outings. “It gives me a little more rhythm,” he said. “It’s good. It feels smoother.”

Birdsong easily throws the hardest among the three candidates and is a prototypical four-pitch pitcher who depends on his fastball for 45% of his pitches and mixes in his slider, curve, and changeup with equal regularity, each between 18% and 19%.

“The velo is there, the command is getting there,” he said. “Hopefully it keeps clicking, and I can go longer into games.”

The feeling entering camp was that the fifth starter’s job was Harrison’s to lose, and it still might be the case. But the left-hander has been a bit behind the others because he spent much of the offseason rehabbing his shoulder.

Harrison threw his final rehab bullpen session right as spring training opened and then lost time with an illness. It’s why his velocity is not where it should be, according to both Harrison and Martinez.

“I didn’t have the standard, cookie-cutter offseason,” said Harrison, who has been limited to two Cactus League outings (one good, one bad) and another in minor-league camp. “I’m building up slowly and keeping health the priority.”

Last season, Harrison entered spring training “throwing as hard as I could” and went 4-1 with a 3.20 ERA in his first eight starts. He then posted an ERA topping 5.00 his next six starts and went on the injured list in mid-June with a sprained ankle. He returned three weeks later but never fully rebounded and was shut down the first week of September with a shoulder impingement.

Harrison has a different outlook this spring. He understands his body more and plans to better monitor his aches and pains. He said that when he returned from the injured list, he favored the ankle and experienced physical issues elsewhere, ultimately in the shoulder.

“Eventually, we had to shut it down,” Harrison said. “The velo was down. I was throwing 89, which I had never seen. Going through it, it made me better and stronger and smarter. You need to go through some struggles in this game to get consistent.”

Harrison said his shoulder now feels fine and is confident he’ll eventually ramp up his velocity. Meantime, he’s focusing on throwing a harder slider with more horizontal movement, a pitch he could use against both righties and lefties.

As for the velocity, Harrison said, “It’s something I’ve been dealing with, but I’m not too worried about it. The metrics on the heater show it doesn’t need to be as hard to get a swing and miss. But I want to get there, and I will. I’ve got to give my body time.”