SF Giants prospects: LHP Kyle Harrison out for Futures Game with injury
The SF Giants announced on Friday afternoon that top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison will miss the MLB Futures Game after suffering a "moderate hamstring strain" while practicing between his outings at Triple-A Sacramento. He will be reevaluated during the break. Giants president of Farhan Zaidi spoke about Harrison's injury during a media scrum on Friday night prior to the team's game against the Rockies.
SF Giants prospect Kyle Harrison talks before the 2022 Futures Game. (2022)
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
"Unfortunately it kind of came out of nowhere," Zaidi said. "As I think we mentioned, it happened working out in between outings. So, it wasn't something that happened on the mound. Like with all these kind of injuries, still assessing severity and a lot of it will come down to how quickly he's asymptomatic. This kind of strain, you know, you're usually talking about a matter of weeks. So, hopefully, it will be on the shorter end, but we don't have a specific timeline.
Harrison was one of two Giants prospects slated to appear at the showcase prior to the injury but now will miss out on the All-Star Week exhibition. He was hoping to bounce back after a rough showing at the 2022 Futures Game, where he allowed four runs on two hits (both homers) and two walks in 0.2 innings pitched and was handed the loss.
The Giants drafted Harrison in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of nearby De La Salle High School and convinced him to forego attending UCLA with a $2.5 million signing bonus. In 2021, he began his pro career at full-season ball and went on to win the Low-A West Pitcher of the Year Award. He led the league in ERA (3.19) and strikeouts per nine innings (14.3).
Harrison, now 21, emerged as a consensus top-50 prospect in the minor leagues last season after splitting his time between Eugene and Richmond. He recorded 186 strikeouts and only 49 walks in 113 innings with an exceptional 2.71 ERA between High-A and Double-A.
The top pitching prospect in the Giants organization, Harrison has spent the entire 2023 season at Triple-A Sacramento. He has posted a 4.79 ERA with 92 strikeouts and 44 walks in 56.1 innings pitched (15 games). As his numbers clearly show, Harrison has showed an impressive ability to strike opposing hitters out, but has struggled to work deep into games because of erratic command.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has noted that the team expects Harrison to slowly make his way upward from a five-inning/75-pitch limit in Sacramento to six-inning/90 pitches over time. Still, Zaidi said last offseason that the SF Giants expect him to make his MLB debut at some point this season. However, the organization has service time incentives that could be impacting its handling of the young southpaw as well.
