'He's our guy': Webb named Opening Day starter for 4th straight year
Maria Guardado
@mi_guardadoSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Logan Webb was in the training room preparing for his bullpen session at Scottsdale Stadium on Friday morning when he happened to glance up at the television and see some breaking news on MLB Network: Manager Bob Melvin had officially named him the Giants¡¯ Opening Day starter. It¡¯ll be the fourth season in a row the righty gets the honor.
The development was news to him, though it was far from unexpected. The choice was so obvious that Melvin didn¡¯t feel the need to give Webb a heads up before sharing the announcement with reporters.
¡°He¡¯s our guy,¡± Melvin said. ¡°He came up in the system. There¡¯s a lot to love about Logan. It¡¯s not even going to be a conversation.¡±
Webb already has his whole spring mapped out, so he kind of figured he was lined up to start the Giants¡¯ 2025 regular-season opener against the Reds on March 27. When he takes the mound at Great American Ball Park, he¡¯ll become only the fourth Giants pitcher to make four or more consecutive Opening Day starts in the San Francisco era, joining Juan Marichal (1964-69), Tim Lincecum (2009-12) and Madison Bumgarner (2014-17).
¡°I never take this stuff for granted,¡± said Webb, who will make his Cactus League debut on Sunday against the Reds at Scottsdale Stadium. ¡°I¡¯m just excited about the staff that we have. It¡¯s an honor to be the one to lead it off.
¡°I¡¯m going to try to beat Bum and hopefully get the next couple. But it¡¯s cool to be in the same conversation as those guys. Those are all unbelievable pitchers. You talk about the San Francisco Giants, those are all the guys that you hear about.¡±
Even with two former Cy Young winners on the pitching staff -- Justin Verlander and Robbie Ray -- the Giants will continue to lean on Webb to lead the way and try to set the tone for the club this year. The 28-year-old right-hander finished sixth in the National League Cy Young race after recording a 3.47 ERA over a NL-high 204 2/3 innings in 2024, but he wasn¡¯t entirely satisfied with his results and is determined to be even better in his seventh big league season.
One of his goals for the spring is to recapture his signature changeup, which saw its Run Value fall from +28 in 2023 -- the second-highest mark in the Majors that season behind Gerrit Cole¡¯s four-seam fastball -- to -4 last year, according to Baseball Savant.
Opposing hitters ended up batting .275 with a .411 slugging percentage against Webb¡¯s changeup last season, up from .225 and .309 in 2023. Webb said he tweaked his grip slightly to try to make his changeup more effective and hopes to dial in the pitch during Cactus League play.
¡°I think there was a lot of stuff last year with the changeup,¡± Webb said. ¡°It¡¯s definitely something I want to get better at. I think getting back to kind of what it was in 2023 is a big thing. It is harder here because [the air] is different, but I think if I can get a good feel here, then I can get a good feel throughout the season.¡±
¡°I think he¡¯s really happy with the grip this spring,¡± Melvin said. ¡°It¡¯s moving down, it¡¯s moving away. It looks just like this sinker. I think that¡¯s what he¡¯s looking for.¡±
Webb said he also wants to continue to work on holding runners and getting more comfortable with a cutter that he reintroduced last season. Webb threw the cutter 20 times in his final 2024 start against the D-backs on Sept. 24, tying his season high, and believes it could help give him another weapon to use against left-handed hitters this year.
¡°I like it,¡± Melvin said. ¡°He can manipulate the baseball. [It] was really good for him. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too big a change to try to elevate one, cut it a little bit to keep the lefties from hanging out over the outside corner. It¡¯s looked really good. Everything he throws is good. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if that was a key pitch for him this year.¡±
Worth noting
- Outfielder Luis Matos missed Thursday¡¯s workout -- and Photo Day -- for good reason, as he was away attending the birth of his first child, a daughter named Briella. Briella was born at 10:30 p.m. Thursday to Matos and his partner, Alexandra Rinc¨®n.
- LaMonte Wade Jr. and Jung Hoo Lee will bat leadoff and third, respectively, in the Giants¡¯ Cactus League opener against the Rangers at Surprise Stadium on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on KNBR 680 beginning at 12:05 p.m. PT.