SF Giants prospects: LHP Kyle Harrison named PCL Pitcher of the Week
Homegrown SF Giants prospect Kyle Harrison (Giants #1 prospect) has added another award to his growing list of accolades. Earlier this week, he was selected the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week, receiving the selection for the second time this season. Harrison did not allow a run across 7.2 innings pitched (two starts) against the Oklahoma City Dodgers last week, striking out 14 while allowing just one hit. off two excellent starts against the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate. Harrison, who’s #1 in our prospect rankings, is MLB’s #15 prospect.
The 21-year-old emerged as a consensus top-50 prospect in the minor leagues last season after splitting his time between Eugene and Richmond. He tossed 113 innings for a 2.71 ERA with 186 strikeouts and only 49 walks between High-A and Double-A. This season, in 11 outings with the River Cats, he amassed 61 strikeouts against 31 walks while allowing 14 runs in 34.1 innings pitched.
The top prospect was drafted in the third round from De La Salle High School in Concord, California in the 2020 draft. His debut was delayed after MLB canceled the MiLB seasons due to COVID-19. In 2021, Harrison pitched Single-A for the San Jose Giants, and won the Low-A West Pitcher of the Year Award after leading the league in ERA (3.19) and strikeouts per nine innings (14.3).
Giants President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has noted that they expect Harrison to slowly make his way upward from a five inning/75 pitch limit in Sacramento to six inning/90 pitches over time. Rather than making quick jumps between these levels, they’ll have him repeat starts at each step in an attempt to mitigate injury risk, and keep him fresh. Nevertheless, the SF Giants have suggested that they expect him to make his MLB debut at some point this season.
