San Francisco Giants Young Hurler Making Strong Push for No. 5 Spot in Rotation

Coming into spring training, the San Francisco Giants starting rotation looked to be pretty much set.

Logan Webb is assuming the ace role once again as he has the last few years. The team is hopeful that Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander, two former Cy Young Award winners, will be able to regain some of their form behind him.

Jordan Hicks will be the No. 4 looking to shake the narrative that he cannot stay healthy or handle the rigors of being a starter.

Rounding out the rotation was supposed to be former top prospect Kyle Harrison, who more than held his own during his rookie campaign in 2024.

But, an alarming drop in velocity and poor performance in Cactus League has created a wide open competition.

Landen Roupp has been garnering a lot of attention for his performances this spring, but he isn’t the only player making a good impression.

Hayden Birdsong is another player to keep an eye on as he looks ready to break out in 2025.

A sixth-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft, his MLB debut was a mixed bag last year.

There was a lot to like, such as the 88 strikeouts in 72 innings, coming out to an 11.0 K/9. He effortlessly throws the ball hard and doesn’t have velocity that tails off near the end of games; he can sustain deep into his outings.

Going deep into outings was a challenge, however, because of a lack of control at times.

Birdsong walked 43 batters for a concerning BB/9 of 5.4. His inability to consistently throw strikes would lead to elevated pitch counts and shorter outings, as he worked beyond the fifth inning only twice in 16 starts.

But, the work he put in this offseason seems to be paying off as he is making a legitimate push for the No. 5 spot with dominant performances.

Through 7.0 Cactus League innings, he hasn’t walked a batter, allowing only four hits and being charged with one earned run. His strikeout stuff remains elite with 10 punchouts.

Winter work had to include mixing and matching his pitches with more efficiency, as he showcased some elite stuff in his most recent outing against the Colorado Rockies.

Hayden Birdsong kick-changes are beautiful pic.twitter.com/etRuY1aAPA
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 10, 2025

In 3.0 innings of work he struck out four with the only base runner allowed reaching via a hit by pitch. He registered a proStuff+ score of 110 with an eye-popping 40.0% whiff rate.

His four-seam fastball, slider and changeup were all elite offerings with proStuff+ scores of at least 108.

The kick-change that he now possesses was truly dominant. It may have been the only offering the Rockies barreled up during the outing, but it also generated a 66.7% whiff rate and a mind-blowing 141 proStuff+.

Not only does Birdsong look like someone worthy of the No. 5 spot in the rotation out of the gate, but hints at front end starter potential down the road.

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