SAN FRANCISCO — When Carson Whisenhunt was scratched from his scheduled start in Triple-A on Saturday, he wasn’t initially told what the next step would be. Whisenhunt is just 24 years old, but he has been around professional baseball long enough at this point to know that the last week of July is not an ideal time to be pulled off the field.
There were some nerves overnight as the young lefty wondered if he would be included in a trade, but when he reported to the field on Sunday morning, he was told that he would be making his MLB debut a day later. It was a whirlwind few days, but it was nothing compared to what his father went through.
Dennis Whisenhunt works for an aerospace company and travels often for work. When the Giants decided to make his son their Monday starter, Dennis was in the Philippines, and he was without his wallet, having lost it on the way overseas. Luckily, he had held onto his passport, and that allowed him to hop on a 13-hour flight to San Francisco and be in the family section when Carson threw his first pitch Monday night.
There would be 85 of them on night one in the big leagues, and it was a mixed bag. Whisenhunt’s changeup, one of the best off-speed pitches in the minor leagues the last couple of seasons, was hit hard early, but he adjusted and responded with three scoreless innings to finish his night.
Whisenhunt was charged with four earned in five innings, but he took a no-decision. After he departed, Carson Seymour gave up a two-run homer to Andrew McCutchen and a ninth-inning rally attempt fell short. The Giants left two runners on in the ninth, falling 6-5 to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.
The loss was the 10th in 12 days for the Giants, who now are just one game over .500. It’s an uneasy way to play heading into the MLB trade deadline, but Whisenhunt at least can take solace in the fact that he almost certainly won’t be involved in any wheeling and dealing.
Before the game, manager Bob Melvin said the lefty should view this as an audition for a rotation spot. Whisenhunt is likely to get at least one more opportunity, and he’s hopeful he can run with it.
“Obviously it’s an honor just to be able to get a chance to play in the big leagues. It’s every kid’s dream,” he said. “But I’ve just got to go out there and compete and fill up the zone. Tonight was a little adrenaline here and there, overthinking things a little bit, trying to do a little too much. I’ve just got to go out there and be myself.”
Whisenhunt threw 85 pitches and only 49 were strikes, although he walked just two. It would have been understandable if there were some rust in addition to the nerves.
Whisenhunt went seven innings in four consecutive starts earlier this season in Triple-A, but June and July have been uneven. Because he appeared in the Futures Game, he had started for the River Cats just once since June 5, and he went 3 2/3 in that appearance.
On Sunday and again on Monday, Melvin said he wasn’t entirely sure how much he would get out of Whisenhunt, and early on it looked like it wouldn’t be much. The Pirates scored three in the second to take a 4-1 lead, but Whisenhunt changed his approach and responded with three shutout innings, giving the Giants about as much length as they could have asked for.
In Triple-A, Whisenhunt used his changeup to finish off 73 percent of his strikeouts. But he left it up early in his debut and gave up a solo homer and then a two-run double. After throwing 20 changeups the first two innings, he threw just 10 in the final three innings, relying heavily on his sinker. He said a conversation with pitching coach J.P. Martinez set him on the new path.
“It kind of seemed like they were sitting changeup early on and we kind of wanted to flip the script a little bit,” he said. “I talked with [catcher Patrick Bailey] and we were like, hey, let’s go curveball if we can figure out the release point and then stick with the heater up-and-out, kind of get it moving a little bit. The changeup was used a little bit too much, in my opinion, early on. It was also a little too firm tonight compared to what it has been, but other than that, it felt good.”
Whisenhunt’s changeup has been big league-ready since he was taken in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and his fastball can hit the mid-90s, but he has spent his time in the minors searching for a reliable third pitch. On Monday, it appeared there’s plenty of work to be done. Whisenhunt threw nine breaking balls, but the only strike came on his 85th and final pitch, when he got Oneil Cruz to ground out with a runner on.
While there’s still development ahead of Whisenhunt, the Giants currently have two vacancies in their rotation. Though they expect Landen Roupp back from the IL soon, Hayden Birdsong might need some time to iron out his command issues.
“It’s all about performance, especially where we are right now,” Melvin said. “But if [Whisenhunt] performs well, that’s going to be a spot. You would think he would embrace that and that’s kind of what he’s digging for. There’s an opportunity, and whenever you’re in the minor leagues and you get an opportunity, you try to take advantage of it.”
The organization’s top pitching prospect should get a chance to pitch in New York against the Mets this weekend. After that, the Giants will see where they stand, not just with Whisenhunt, but with a rotation that might look different by the time they arrive at Citi Field.
The expectation within the organization in recent days has been that a starter will be added at the deadline. But if this skid continues, Buster Posey might not have a whole lot of appetite to add to this group.
That will be decided in the next couple of days. On Monday, it was about the debut for the organization’s top pitching prospect.
At some point, Whisenhunt should be here for good, making the planning a lot easier for Dennis and the rest of the family.