San Francisco Giants Boast Fully Healthy Left-Handed Pitcher in Spring Training

The recently healthy San Francisco Giant is working up to be a major part of the rotation this season.

Jul 30, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray (23) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Oracle Park. Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Coming into his first healthy season as part of the San Francisco Giants, left-hander Robbie Ray is already making waves on the mound.

Ray played in his second spring game on Sunday and put on a show.

Just last year, confidence in Ray was low since he was still in recovery from Tommy John surgery. This season, the Giants will have the former Cy Young winner back on the mound.

Ray threw 29 strikes on 36 pitches on Sunday, showing off an incredible 96 mph fastball as the innings pressed on, and after his performance, San Francisco is buzzing about the possibilities the lefty can bring for this rotation.

Ray is no stranger to the pitching spotlight.

He was previously awarded the AL Cy Young Award in 2021 and has been the ace of the pitching staffs he's been a part of before his injury.

Ray's counterpart behind home plate, Sam Huff, faced off against the pitcher before they wore the same jersey, and now, there's a chance those two will be paired up during the regular season.

Ray is looking at the No. 3 starting spot right now, sitting behind starters Logan Webb and Justin Verlander, but he has the opportunity to jump higher in the rotation with even more solid showings throughout the spring.

Huff has been catching for Ray in both of his spring outings, and perhaps that's one of the reasons why the former AL Cy Young winner has been sharp with his new backstop calling pitches for him.

"Screw this," Huff said per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic when talking about the two working together to strike out Jorge Soler. "You threw two good ones and shook to the second one? I'm just gonna call a third one. And sure enough, that was perfect."

It's an interesting match, but one that could pay off.

"You know, I think he looks even better now,” Huff added after Sunday's outing where Ray threw 29 of his 36 pitches for strikes. “He looked strong out there today. It looks like he got better every inning. He was up to 96 (mph) in the third. I'm excited for him."

Ray added that since having surgery, Sunday's matchup was the best he had felt.

He commented on the fact that he felt great last year, but was missing the feeling of a comfortable arm slot. This year, he looks and feels confident on the mound.

The Giants will have quite the task figuring out their Opening Day roster, especially behind the plate with Max Stassi competing with Huff to backup incumbent starting Patrick Bailey now that Tom Murphy is out of the picture due to back issues.

If Huff can keep getting these types of outings out of Ray, then he might be the leader in the clubhouse when it comes time for San Francisco to make their decision.