Here's the Giants' Spring Breakout roster
Maria Guardado
@mi_guardadoSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Giants have been easing their stable of young pitching prospects into Cactus League action this year, but several of those promising hurlers figure to take center stage during MLB¡¯s inaugural Spring Breakout weekend.
Created to showcase baseball¡¯s future stars from each Major League organization, the new Spring Training initiative will pit a team of top prospects from one club against a team of top prospects from another in a series of 16 exhibition games from March 14-17.
The Giants¡¯ prospect team will take on A¡¯s prospects at 4:05 p.m. PT on March 15 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., with the two big league squads facing off beforehand as part of an in-stadium doubleheader.
Hayden Birdsong (No. 7), Joe Whitman (No. 11), Trevor McDonald (No. 14) and Carson Seymour (No. 19) will headline the crop of arms on San Francisco¡¯s roster, highlighting the groundswell of pitching that¡¯s coming up through the Giants organization.
¡°We¡¯re deep,¡± Birdsong said. ¡°People should be scared, let¡¯s put it that way. It should be fun. There¡¯s a lot of dudes in here.¡±
Birdsong, 22, is in the midst of his first big league camp with the Giants, but he¡¯s found himself in familiar company, as he¡¯s part of a cluster of young pitching prospects who are now occupying a row of lockers in the Scottsdale Stadium clubhouse.
Birdsong and one of his locker neighbors, Carson Whisenhunt, were part of the Giants¡¯ pitcher-heavy Draft class in 2022, and each reached Double-A Richmond last year. Birdsong, a sixth-round pick out of Eastern Illinois, said he found it beneficial to begin his pro career alongside a big group of pitchers because they¡¯ve all been able to lean on each other from the start.
¡°I would say it¡¯s helped a lot, especially because I¡¯ve grown close to my Draft class,¡± Birdsong said. ¡°We were in Arizona for a month, and it was just us. It was us and some of the younger Latin kids. We got really close and learned about each other and learned each other¡¯s pitches and all that stuff. We¡¯ve all moved pretty similarly together. Everybody was in [Single-A] San Jose at the same time. We played really well. We all got really close.¡±
Birdsong recorded a 3.31 ERA over 28 appearances (25 starts) between Single-A San Jose, High-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond in 2023, so his goal is to break into the Giants¡¯ starting rotation at some point this year. He fired a scoreless inning in his Cactus League debut against the Cubs, though he stumbled a bit in his next outing against the Rangers, yielding two runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings.
Birdsong¡¯s mid-90s fastball and sharp breaking ball are already considered plus pitches, but he said he's still working on developing a good feel for his changeup this spring.
¡°I¡¯m trying to figure out my changeup, try to get that thing in the zone as much as I can,¡± Birdsong said. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be my [No. 1] or [No. 2] pitch in my repertoire, but I want it to where I can throw it at least 10 to 15 percent of the time and be in the zone and basically use it. Last year, I never used it, so this year I want it to be where I can use it all the time and keep people off balance.¡±
What is Spring Breakout? MLB Spring Breakout is a four-day event showcasing baseball¡¯s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball. The inaugural edition will be held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus league stadiums during Spring Training. A series of 16 exhibition games will be played between teams comprised of each MLB organization¡¯s top prospects, creating a new touchpoint on the baseball calendar that celebrates our sport¡¯s budding talent.
Here's the Giants' Spring Breakout roster with MLB Pipeline's rankings: