Giants Pitching Prospect Likely to Remain on Roster Rest of Season

It seems like it's finally Carson Whisenhunt's time now.

After waiting for a few years for his opportunity to truly shine on baseball's biggest stage, the left-handed prospect should be pitching for the San Francisco Giants for the rest of the 2026 campaign.

Justice delos Santos of the San Jose Mercury-News (subscription required) reported that manager Tony Vitello said that Whisenhunt was not with the Giants for a "...one-and-done, and he should get a decent runway to make some starts up here."

Whisenhunt (2-0) has logged a 3.38 ERA in two games for the Giants. While at Triple-A Sacramento earlier this year, he went 6-4 with a 4.15 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 82.1 innings. He was listed as the organization's No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline before being promoted to play baseball by the Bay.

The young lefty will replace righthander Trevor McDonald, who the team placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain. It's expected Whisenhunt will be used mostly as a starter, but that could change depending on what moves the Giants may make before the trade deadline. The 25-year-old was the Giants' second-round draft pick in 2022

Whisenhunt, 25, has been with the Giants franchise since 2022, when the organization drafted him in the second round of the MLB Draft (65th overall). After years of seemingly being a name near the top of the club's list of top young hopefuls, it appears he is finally ready to tap into all that potential.

Nothing to Lose

Vitello yelling at umpire — Giants manager Tony Vitello | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At this point, San Fran could go with more prospects along with Whisenhunt the rest of the way and it wouldn't matter much. The team has been one of the most disappointing teams in Major League Baseball in 2026. At 44-60, and 22.5 games out of first place in the NL West, there's nothing left to play for — except hope for the future.

But don't tell that to Whisenhunt, who will look to emerge as the team's next dominant southpaw starter, particularly if they move former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray to a contender this week. The portside prospect definitely has the skills for the role, as evidenced by the small sample size we've seen this season. Given another two months to gain experience against big league batters should line him up for a chance to make the rotation out of Spring Training 2027.

Add us as a preferred source on Google