3 days Ago
The , fresh off two successful bullpen games, are switching things up and going with what’s known as a “starting pitcher” on Wednesday. It’s incredibly retro of them. It won’t be just any starting pitcher, though.
— the Giants’ best right-handed pitching prospect, if not their best pitching prospect, period — will make his major-league debut. Here are some takeaways regarding the promotion and what it means for Birdsong and the Giants. Advertisement Birdsong is here far, far ahead of schedule Birdsong was drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB Draft, 196th overall.
Only three players drafted in the first round that year have made the majors, which gives you an idea of how quickly Birdsong has moved through the system. He’s thrown just 169 2/3 innings in the minor leagues, which makes him the Giants pitcher with the least professional experience to debut since Tim Lincecum (62 2/3 minor-league innings) in 2007. Even teenaged Madison Bumgarner had more innings in the minors before he debuted.
The rapid ascent is even more remarkable when you consider that he was drafted as a reliever out of Eastern Illinois, not a starting pitcher from a bigger program like Stanford or Texas. Two years ago, he was playing against Jack Rando of the Belmont Bruins*. Now he’ll face of the .
* The story of how he got to the Giants feels almost like fate or providence. , and it turns out that Birdsong is from Mattoon, Ill., which is the same hometown as Bert Bradley, longtime.
