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Coming into spring training, it was clear that the fifth spot in the starting rotation for the SF Giants was an unsettled matter. The Giants need to make a choice soon, and the obvious answer would be to go with Hayden Birdsong.
Birdsong, Kyle Harrison, and Landen Roupp have been locked in a battle since camp began to determine who will start the season in the rotation. Roupp and Birdsong have been the most impressive while Harrison got a bit of a late start and it took him awhile to find his fastball velocity.
SF Giants should have Hayden Birdsong in the starting rotation
As of right now, Birdsong and Roupp definitely seem to be the favorites based on their Cactus League results and the fact that their arms are built up a bit more at this point in spring so they can be relied upon more to go deeper into games than Harrison.
Birdsong’s impressive 0.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched definitely catches the eye, but what really stands out is the fact that he has struck out 18 batters while not walking anyone. The young 23-year-old walked 43 batters in 72 innings pitched for the Giants last season, so the fact that he has proven he can pound the strike zone, admittedly in a small sample size, is a great sign. This seems to have been helped by a minor tweak he made based on a suggestion from Justin Verlander which is already garnering positive results.
Catcher Patrick Bailey recently lauded Birdsong for having some of the best stuff in all of baseball. That is high praise from a Gold Glove catcher than does not feel entirely like hyperbole. Of the three pitchers, Birdsong certainly has the most electric stuff with a fastball that can regularly reach 98 miles per hour and an impressive breaking ball.
His 88 strikeouts in 72 innings at the big league level last year shows his stuff can play in the big leagues. There is an argument to be made that he has the highest ceiling out of him, Roupp, and Harrison, so perhaps starting him early is the right move so he can get more experience and get even better.
It seems like this competition may still come down to the wire, but if the Giants want the pitcher with the highest upside in the rotation, then their choice is clear: Hayden Birdsong should be the man in the fifth spot of the rotation.
