Former San Francisco Giants Top Prospect Needs to Rediscover Velocity

For a San Francisco Giants pitcher to reach his potential, he needs to rediscover the velocity he showed previously.

Jul 26, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Kyle Harrison (45) pitches during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park. | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants' most heated positional battle during spring training this year has turned out to be for the No. 5 spot in their pitching rotation.

It wasn’t expected to be much of a battle heading into camp, since former top prospect Kyle Harrison was viewed as having a sizable lead. He was expected to handle the final spot behind Logan Webb, Justin Verlander, Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks.

But, things rarely go as planned and in this case, it was a positive development in many ways for the Giants.

Other options have risen to the occasion and are pushing Harrison for the final spot.

Landen Roupp has been grabbing headlines during spring training with his strong performances on the mound. Hayden Birdsong remains a high-upside option with his effortless velocity. Keaton Winn, working his way back from injury, has not allowed a run yet in Cactus League games.

All three players remain in the mix, with Roupp looking to have taken the lead over Harrison in the face.

While Roupp’s performance has been worth taking note of, part of the reason Harrison’s standing has weakened is because of his own shortcomings.

He more than held his own during his rookie campaign, making 24 starts in 2024 in his age-22 season. But a few concerns that popped up have carried into camp this year.

The biggest is his lack of velocity.

Despite his fastball sitting at 91-93 mph this spring, it isn’t something Harrison has been worried about. The pitch plays well up on the zone and he has the tools to succeed in the Major Leagues if that is the velocity he is going to be working with.

However, as Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (paid subscription required) noted in a recent mailbag, that will drastically lower his ceiling and future outlook.

“...Nobody is interested in that. Not when he struck out more than 14 batters per nine innings in the minor leagues while touching 97. If he cannot unlock that velocity again, then his ceiling is a lot lower than what we thought it could be a year ago,” he wrote.

Harrison was a consensus top 100 prospect for three years, reaching as high as No. 18 at some outlets. Those strikeout numbers hinted at ace potential but he has not showcased the same raw stuff at the Major League level.

Through his first 159 career innings, he has a K/9 of 8.7, striking out 153 batters.

Still only 23 years old, it is far to early to write Harrison off. As Baggarly noted, he is more can capable of being a serviceable Major Leaguer with the arsenal that he currently possesses.

But any talk of him being a future ace is going to disappear unless he can rediscover the velocity on his fastball that separated him from his peers in the minor leagues.