Tag: inside sports

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Carson Whisenhunt wasn’t expecting to see a number that high.

During the first inning of Thursday’s simulated game, Whisenhunt geared up and fired a four-seam fastball to catcher Logan Porter. The pitch felt good coming out of his hand, so he took a look at Scottsdale Stadium’s scoreboard to see how hard he just threw.

97.

This wasn’t a case of a stadium having a hot radar gun. The scoreboard projected Trackman readings, meaning this was a legitimate 97 mph. And if this caliber of heat is real, it has the potential to transform him as a pitcher.

“I think there’s more in there, too,” Porter said. “It’s coming out firm.”

Whisenhunt’s velocity wasn’t just for show. He retired seven of the eight batters he faced during the sim game, striking out Jesus Rodriguez, Jake Holton and Bo Davidson on his signature changeup.

“I’m feeling a lot better than I did last year,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m moving better mechanically, especially, so everything’s just kind of flowing right now. I’m trying not to overdo it, but it came out hot today.”

Whisenhunt didn’t exhibit this type of velocity during his brief time in the majors last season. Over five starts, the left-hander had an average fastball velocity of 92.6 mph, which ranked in the 23rd percentile. His velocity with Triple-A Sacramento (92.3 mph) was no better.

The left-hander said he was sinking in his back hip a lot more last year, which he felt like was “blocking velo, so to speak.” Now, Whisenhunt is a little more upright and trying to get into his back hip.

“And then, just kind of throwing the [expletive] out of it,” Whisenhunt said with a smile. “That’s the best way to put it.”

In his estimation, the last time Whisenhunt exhibited consistent mid-90s velocity was 2023, his first full season as a professional after being drafted in the second round of the ‘22 MLB draft. That year, which he spent with Single-A San Jose, High-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond, Whisenhunt’s velocity sat in the 94-97 mph range.

Whisenhunt, who’s peaked as high as 98 mph, acknowledged that he probably won’t consistently hit as high as 97. If he can sit comfortably in the 94, 95-mph range as he did in 2023, the rest of his arsenal plays up — especially his bread-and-butter changeup.

“Obviously, trying to win a job, you have to do a little extra as a young guy, but not trying to overdo it,” Whisenhunt said. “But also, get my work in and make sure I’m ready for the season.”

Improved velocity isn’t the only new tool in Whisenhunt’s bag. The left-hander, like many other young starters in camp, added a cutter to his repertoire. Whisenhunt has also worked on his slider, the focus being on generating more horizontal and downward movement.

One of Whisenhunt’s biggest additions to his game hasn’t been extra velocity or refined pitches, but the subtraction of tipping.

Whisenhunt and the Giants’ coaching staff realized he was tipping pitches after his start against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 27, a game he won after allowing three earned runs over five innings. Before Whisenhunt could address the issue, his lower back began giving him issues and sidelined him for the rest of the year.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A year ago, Landen Roupp entered camp in competition for the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation with Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp — a spot he ended up winning. His spot in the rotation has long been secure, but Roupp isn’t changing anything ahead of his third major league season.

“I’m just thinking of it the same way, trying to fight for my spot,” Roupp said. “Even if I do have the spot, I’m going to attack it like I don’t.”

Roupp and left-hander Matt Gage threw their first live bullpens of camp on Saturday afternoon after right-handers Logan Webb and Hayden Birdsong did so on Friday afternoon.

The 27-year-old Roupp, pitching to Logan Porter, threw 25 pitches and faced six hitters, though his second time facing Patrick Bailey ended early due to pitch count. He struck out Jesus Rodriguez swinging but allowed a home run to non-roster invitee Eric Haase.

Gage, pitching to Diego Cartaya, faced four batters and threw 20 pitches, striking out Porter swinging but allowing a base hit to Bailey.

Roupp emphasized his cutter during his live bullpen season. He threw the pitch last year but changed his grip at the suggestion of new assistant pitching coach Christian Wonders.

“I threw it a lot today, just trying to feel it out and see how it played,” Roupp said. “Got some good swings on it.”

With a solidified spot in the Opening Day rotation, Roupp is headed for a significant workload spike after throwing a career-high 109 2/3 innings last year (three of those innings were during a rehab assignment).

Roupp landed on the 15-day injured list last year with right elbow inflammation, but he believes the Giants made the move out of caution. He also missed the last month of the season after awkwardly twisting his knee at Petco Park in late August, but that injury was of the fluke variety.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Giants were intent on adding a second baseman this winter. They couldn’t land Brendan Donovan. Or Nico Hoerner. Or CJ Abrams. Then, a week-and-a-half before spring training, they landed Luis Arráez, a three-time batting champion with a divisive skillset, on a one-year deal.

For Casey Schmitt, the ripple effect was obvious. Despite an encouraging season, one where he grinded through multiple brutal injuries, Schmitt will transition from starting second baseman to San Francisco’s utility man.

“Casey did make some big strides last year,” said president of baseball operations Buster Posey on Tuesday. “(Christian) Koss, same thing. Adding a guy like Arráez, I think, is an opportunity for a guy like Casey and a guy like Koss to learn from, as well as they continue their development. And then it just gives us another layer of depth in our infield to have Arráez.”

Having played all four infield positions, Schmitt is plenty qualified for the role. Still, there’s an argument that Schmitt, who turns 27 in March, deserved a chance to start at second base — and that the Giants should’ve dedicated the $12 million they spent on Arráez to its pitching staff.

Schmitt’s third season in the majors was his best to date, one that ended with him seizing the starting second baseman job. His numbers don’t leap off the page but he totaled career-highs in homers (12), RBIs (40) and games (95) while posting a .706 OPS (101 OPS+).

The former second-round pick struggled for the first two months, missing time due to a left oblique strain. When Matt Chapman hit the injured list, Schmitt took off as Chapman’s temporary replacement. Before Chapman’s injury, Schmitt had a .521 OPS over 58 plate appearances. From June 10 onward, Schmitt posted a .742 OPS over 290 plate appearances.

That performance is especially impressive considering his body was a magnet for baseballs.

On June 15, the day the Giants traded for Rafael Devers, Schmitt fouled a pitch off his left foot and left the game.

On June 25, Schmitt got nailed in the left wrist by a 95.2 mph sinker from the Miami Marlins’ Calvin Faucher.

On August 15, the Tampa Bay Rays’ Edwin Uceta nailed Schmitt on the right elbow with a 93.3 mph fastball, forcing Schmitt to leave the game.

On September 1, Chase Dollander, who played for new manager Tony Vitello at Tennessee, hit that same right elbow with a 95.7 mph sinker.

Schmitt described the season as “a little bit of a grind physically and mentally,” but thought the season went well overall. He conceded that the left wrist ailment affected his swing, particularly his ability to hit the inside fastball.

The wrist kept barking after the season, and Schmitt underwent surgery in December to remove the carpal boss in his left wrist. He’s a little behind schedule compared to other position players in camp, but has one more week of his hitting progression before being fully cleared for all baseball activities.

Assuming health, Schmitt is the overwhelming favorite to win a spot on the bench as a utility player. Schmitt, who has dropped five to ten pounds, said he hasn’t done any work in the outfield aside from shagging fly balls, and Vitello said the Giants haven’t discussed getting Schmitt reps in the outfield.

“It just seemed to be a season of interruption for him,” Vitello said. “For him to do what he did and look back on it and still gain valuable reps … he should take confidence in that he was able to accomplish things, but he also he was able to build up some experience.”

Added Vitello: “To me, if he’s of the right mindset and he prepares the way I think he will with Wash, he kind of becomes a weapon at third base and second base defensively.”

Schmitt isn’t the only primary infielder affected by the team’s signing of Arráez.

For Koss and Tyler Fitzgerald, the path to an Opening Day roster spot becomes more unclear. Given the positional inflexibility of Arráez and Rafael Devers (and potentially Bryce Eldridge), it’s pretty much a prerequisite for Fitzgerald and Koss to play in the outfield.

Fitzgerald and Koss aren’t unfamiliar with grazing the grass. The former has played 61 combined games in the outfield in the majors and minors, while Koss has seen time in the outfield in both the minors and the Puerto Rican Winter League.

“I think grabbing reps voluntarily is important, but also it’s on us, if we see a point where it’s like, there could be a day in May where this guy needs to help us at this position, then we need to put him that position in spring training,” Vitello said.

SCOTTSDALE — Bryce Eldridge used two different gloves on the backfield at Scottsdale Stadium on Tuesday morning. One belonged to him; the other belonged to Jung Hoo Lee.

Eldridge dedicated the early part of his morning to working on infield defense, beaming with joy as he described his first fielding session with new infield coach Ron Washington. Then, as the first position player groups took batting practice, Eldridge grabbed Lee’s glove and headed out to left field to shag fly balls alongside outfielder Drew Gilbert.

To be clear, Eldridge isn’t changing positions anytime soon. He is a first baseman, and barring the unforeseen, he will continue to be a first baseman. But his presence in the outfield might be a common sight this spring.

Eldridge told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that manager Tony Vitello wants him to shag fly balls just in case a need suddenly arises. The Giants’ top prospect added that he will just be shagging and he won’t be taking reps with the team’s actual outfielders.

“My mom’s shipping my outfield glove that I’ve never used because I haven’t played outfield in the last two years,” Eldridge said.

Eldridge, 21, isn’t completely unfamiliar with the outfield. In 2023, Eldridge played 26 minor-league games in right field after the Giants selected him in that year’s draft. The following year, San Francisco moved Eldridge to first base, the only defensive position he has played the last two seasons.

“I never really got a chance to get comfortable out there. I never played out there in high school, so for what it’s worth, I felt comfortable enough,” Eldridge said. “Obviously, it probably wasn’t pretty. You can ask the Low-A (San Jose) coaches if it was pretty or not. I felt like I did a good job.”

Eldridge, in all likelihood, won’t be anything more than an emergency outfielder in the same way that teams have an emergency catcher.

The Giants will always carry at least one, if not two, outfielders on the bench, and utility players Tyler Fitzgerald and Christian Koss have professional experience in the outfield. Even new second baseman Luis Arráez has played 48 games in left field, though he hasn’t played the position since 2021. For Eldridge to see time in the outfield, multiple things would have had to go off the rails.

Still, as Eldridge put it, you “never know.”

“Me and Gilbert are really tight, so he … was giving me some tips on how to prep and approach the ball when it’s on the ground and how to go about it,” Eldridge said. “I was kind of just running around there. I would run for one, then I saw another one in the air and go sprint. He’s like, ‘Dude, just take a rep, take it seriously, go reset.’ I’m kind of out there doing cardio.”

While Eldridge’s attitude regarding his outfield duties is more of the laissez-faire variety, his approach to improving as a defender at first base is anything but.

Eldridge, who is full go after undergoing left wrist surgery in October, has been in Arizona since January and has been taking grounders for over a month. After completing fielding drills with Washington and Jolbert Cabrera, the fundamentals coach for Triple-A Sacramento, Eldridge listened intently to Washington’s defensive guidance for several minutes.

If Eldridge has a good spring, he and Washington may both be standing on Oracle Park’s third-base line on Opening Night.

Eldridge will be one of the biggest storylines to monitor over the next six weeks. The Giants’ top prospect isn’t guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster, and it’s possible he starts the season with Sacramento despite making his debut last September.

“I knew coming into (camp) last year that I didn’t really have a chance to make it, so it’s definitely different,” Eldridge said. “It makes it easier to relax and have fun. We heard a good message from Willy (Adames) and (Matt) Chapman in a camp the other week, saying everyone just has to be themselves and don’t try to impress (anybody). I feel like being myself is what got me here, so I’m just going keep being myself.”