MLB's Most Exciting New Southpaw

Coming off a rather impressive start I felt the need to write about MLB Pipeline’s #20 overall prospect and recent Giants call-up, Kyle Harrison. Harrison is the San Francisco Giants top overall prospect. Through two career MLB starts he owns a 1-0 record with a 1.86 ERA, 1.138 WHIP, and 16/3 K/BB ratio. Not too shabby. What has really caught my eye is the fact his lowest K/9 numbers through an entire season in the minor leagues is a 14.32. This is an astronomical number, and one can hope for a Spencer Strider outcome here. I am not saying the Giants are getting Spencer Strider 2.0, but the minor-league strikeout ratios do suggest we can be witnessing something special. 

The Southpaw was drafted in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft. The Giants ended up giving him a signing bonus of $2.5M, which was triple the amount from the $710K slot value. The Giants definitely saw something, and so far it looks like their investment was worth it. I'm not sure if the DNA aspect helped their decision making but as I was researching Harrison, it looks like his grandfather, Skip Guinn, was a former MLB pitcher. In 2021, Harrison was named the Low-A West Pitcher of the Year, CAL Pitcher of the Year, a CAL Postseason All Star, and a MiLB.com Organization All Star. Some very impressive accolades for the youngster.

The 22-year-old relies on five pitches. His primary pitch is a 4-seam Fastball that is used 69.9% of the time. Also incorporated in his arsenal are a Slurve (23.7%), Changeup (5.1%), Slider (0.6%), and a Cutter (0.6%). The fastball grades out at around 95 MPH and owns a Whiff% of 39.1%. Although he is using the Slurve for just under a quarter of his pitches, it is seeing a 43.8% Whiff rate. If he is able to improve the secondary pitches in addition to an already nasty Fastball & Slurve, Harrison is going to be a nightmare for opposing batters. Only time will tell, but I think the Giants nailed this one.

All in all, it looks like the Giants have done it again and have been able to internally draft, develop and deploy a rockstar pitcher. I would suggest grabbing Harrison in all fantasy leagues if you need a starter. Good luck Mr. Harrison; I look forward to watching your career as I think it’s going to be a good one!

Photo Credit: (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)