The San Francisco Giants carousel in the rotation is continuing. After just one appearance back with AAA Sacramento, top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt is set for a return to the Majors, as he’ll start Friday’s series opener against the best team in baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Giants will place Landen Roupp on the Injured List in a corresponding move, after the righty injured his knee during Wednesday’s loss to the San Diego Padres.
San Francisco had two holes to fill in the rotation,
and Whisenhunt cuts that number in half by replacing Roupp. They still have a hole left by Thursday’s decision to option Kai-Wei Teng, which was a surprising move following Roupp’s injury (The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly had even reported that the Giants were planning to start Teng on Sunday).
But they also bought themselves some time to make that decision. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, who will get an extra day of rest thanks to Whisenhunt’s insertion into the rotation, will pitch on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and the Giants have an off day on Monday. In theory, that means they won’t need another starter until next Saturday, August 30. They could opt for a bullpen game for that outing against the Baltimore Orioles, which would give them even more time to figure something out, or Trevor McDonald would be a logical call-up. They could also bring Teng back for that start, assuming someone gets injured in the next week-and-a-half, which would allow them to skirt the rules of bringing back recently-optioned players. The favorite to join the rotation, Blade Tidwell, is no longer an option, after the deadline acquisition reported shoulder soreness on Wednesday and will head for an MRI.
That’s a question for another day, though. For now, the question is: how will Whisenhunt look? His first shot in the Majors was hot-and-cold, as he bookended a brilliant start against the excellent New York Mets with tough outings against the not-so-excellent Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals. In his lone AAA game between Major League starts, Whisenhunt allowed four hits, four walks, and two runs in 5.1 innings against Round Rock, with six strikeouts.
