SF Giants: Kyle Harrison talks Oracle Park debut, potential adjustment, more
With SF Giants manager Gabe Kapler announcing that top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison (Giants Top 4 Prospect) will make his home debut on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds, the Tri-Valley local is excited to start at Oracle Park, the ballpark he would go to in high school.
“It feels good to be back and hopefully have a lot of people come out [to] support me and yeah, just know a lot of people are gonna be here and be a fun time,” Harrison told Giants Baseball Insider on Saturday.
Kapler acknowledged that Harrison’s local ties adds even more energy to his big-league home debut.
“I think it's a huge deal,” Kapler said. “I know he's gonna have a lot of family here.”
Harrison said he learned a lot from his debut outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
“Learned a little about the fastball and what I can do with a changeup as well, maybe sprinkle in a little more and learn that I can land that sweeper,” Harrison said. “Just, y’know, be careful where you’re hanging it to some hitters, like [to] the guy you grew up watching, Bryce Harper. Just learning guys, things like that. These are good hitters. So I mean, if you make mistakes, it's gonna get punished. So yeah, we'll get ready for the next one.”
Kapler noted Harrison’s explosive fastball as well. Harrison’s fastball is easily his most advanced pitch and generated whiffs on 48% of swings in his big-league debut.
“When we saw the fastball, the explosive fastball and the bat missing capability that that pitch has, how unusual it is and how good of a base it is to work from, [you] still have to make your pitches, your command has to be strong to survive in this league,” Kapler said. “But that's a really good start. It's just being able to throw a fastball by good fastballs by good hitters.”
Kapler said that Harrison will be on a pitch limit on Monday, but not a strict one. Harrison has not thrown more than 65 pitches in an outing since June but has thrown at least 60 in his past few outings. Kapler hinted Harrison's pitch count could reach the 75-80 range.
“It's really just what does the game need from us and how does the pitcher look and how confident [we] are that [...] pitcher can stay healthy because we know that a long slow ramp is the best way to prevent injuries in baseball,” Kapler said. “What we don't do is like blow wildly past those pitch count numbers because it's not safe.”
Sunday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, but that was not necessarily a factor the team considered.
“I think it's a combination of the two [things],” Kapler said. “It's always nice to give a pitcher an extra day of rest. We want him to be as physically strong and athletic as he can possibly be. So that's number one. And then number two, I don't think this is any secret but the Braves are especially dangerous for left-handed pitching because of all those tough right-handed hitters in the lineup. Not that we're going to have to match up perfectly every time but whenever we can. It's not a bad idea.”
Harrison, himself, is looking forward to getting out there in front of a home crowd that could include family and friends from the Tri-Valley.
“I'm excited and ready to go,” Harrison said. “Hopefully, get some more wins and get going to the playoff race.”
