Roupp to start spring opener in search of rotation spot

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Last year, Landen Roupp didn’t get a chance to make his first Spring Training start until the penultimate game of Cactus League play. He won’t have to wait long this time around, as the 26-year-old right-hander will take the ball for the Giants in their 2025 exhibition opener against the Rangers at Surprise Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Roupp is slated to pitch approximately two innings and kick off the battle for the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation. San Francisco already has Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander and Jordan Hicks locked into its starting staff, but the final spot is expected to be an open competition between young starters like Roupp, Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong and Keaton Winn this spring.

The Giants slow played Roupp last year after injuries limited him to only 10 starts in the Minors in 2023, but he quickly emerged as the biggest surprise of last spring once he finally got a chance to take the mound. Armed with an electric fastball-curveball combination, Roupp performed well enough to earn a spot in the Giants’ 2024 Opening Day bullpen and ended up delivering a 3.58 ERA over 23 appearances as a rookie.

He got a brief look in the Giants’ rotation in September, when he made four starts to end the year, and is expected to be stretched out and return to his starting roots this spring.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Roupp said Thursday. “Last year, I think I started one [Cactus League] game. Starting Spring Training this year already as a starter is pretty exciting for me. It’s definitely been a lot different. I’m full-go. I came in with no injuries at all. It’s just been getting to work and not having a leash on me, really.”

Roupp is hoping the normal ramp-up will give him a chance to round out his arsenal heading into his second year with the Giants. He’s focusing on getting more comfortable with his four-seam fastball and changeup and is also working on a new cutter to help keep left-handed hitters in check moving forward.

Roupp’s versatility should give him multiple paths to making the Giants’ Opening Day roster for the second straight year, as he could also be in contention for a bullpen spot if he’s unable to crack the starting rotation this spring.

“You can always build guys up as starters and put him into the bullpen depending on need,” manager Bob Melvin said. “But you also want to have your options open if something happens during camp or someone gets hurt. But man, he was really good at times in the bullpen and in the last few starts. It’s pretty exciting to think about.”

Roupp said it was challenging to adjust to pitching out of the bullpen for the first time in his career last year, but he feels that experience has set him up to thrive in whatever role the Giants assign him in 2025.

“I was definitely happy with making the team,” Roupp said. “I’d never been a reliever before, so that was kind of eye-opening, just to be there and be in a situation that I was not technically comfortable in. That was definitely a learning curve. But the takeaways for me were that I can pitch out of the bullpen or as a starter. Wherever the team needs me is where I’ll be.”

Worth noting
Melvin said infielder Tyler Fitzgerald is progressing well from the back tightness that has sidelined him from the first week of full-squad workouts and has resumed some baseball activity. The latest update on Tom Murphy wasn’t quite as encouraging, as Melvin said the veteran catcher is still “struggling” with an oblique strain that shut him down last week.

Heliot Ramos provided perhaps the loudest swing of camp so far on Wednesday, when he homered off the Scottsdale Stadium scoreboard in left field while facing Verlander in live batting practice. The no-doubt shot drew a loud expletive from Verlander, who celebrated his 42nd birthday on Thursday.

“You don’t see balls hit like that usually early in camp,” Melvin said.

“I’ve seen it plenty of times by now, so I’m not surprised by it,” fellow outfielder Mike Yastrzemski said. “But man, he hammered that ball. It’s a good sign.”