Why the San Francisco Giants Will Be Thankful for Top Tier Starting Depth This Season

The starting pitching depth for the San Francisco Giants could come in handy this season.

Feb 13, 2025; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35) watches players work out in the bullpen during spring training camp. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants will be kicking off the season this week and expectations for the franchise are mixed. 

With new leadership in town, the Giants were able to accomplish some of the franchise’s main goals this winter. 

They wanted to drop their payroll a touch. For the last several years, the previous regime wasn’t overly efficient in terms of their spending, resulting in a bloated payroll that wasn’t resulting in the type of success on the field that ownership wanted. 

However, despite dropping in payroll, they did add one of the most talented sluggers this winter in Willy Adames. Scoring and offense have been a challenge for the franchise for quite some time, but adding Adames should help with that. 

Furthermore, the franchise also added future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander to a one-year deal, who they hope will bounce back after an injury-plagued 2024. 

Fortunately, despite losing Blake Snell in free agency, the franchise has a lot of depth in the rotation, both ready to pitch in the Majors and on the way soon. 

Maria Guardado of MLB.com recently spoke about the biggest takeaway from spring training for the Giants being their plethora of depth in the starting rotation heading into the year and the near future.

“The Giants also have several talented arms waiting in the wings at Triple-A Sacramento, including Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn and pitching prospects Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour and Carson Ragsdale, giving the organization an enviable level of pitching depth heading into the regular season.”

While playing 81 games at Oracle Park, pitching has always been a priority for San Francisco. With where they call home being one of the best pitcher’s parks in the league, the Giants have seemingly always geared their team in the direction of late. 

Heading into 2025, the starting rotation is looking pretty strong. Logan Webb will once again be the ace of the staff, with the talented right-hander looking to lead the way. 

Furthermore, he will have two former Cy Youngs behind him in the rotation with Verlander and Robbie Ray. For Ray, he will be coming off missing most of 2024 and looking to regain form. 

After the two veterans, Jordan Hicks and likely Hayden Birdsong, will be rounding out the rest of the unit. 

Overall, there is a nice mix of both veterans and young pitchers, creating a strong overall rotation. 

Furthermore, the franchise should be very encouraged by the depth that the unit has as well. While it will likely be Birdsong as the fifth starter, Landen Roupp also pitched well this spring. 

There is no such thing as having too much pitching and, with Ray and Verlander in the rotation after missing a lot of time in 2024, the youngsters should stay ready for potential opportunities.