It turns out this already frustrating San Francisco Giants season still has more frustration to offer its frustrated fan base.
The Giants begin a four-game series against the Brewers on Monday where they will go up against a familiar face: former highly touted pitching prospect Kyle Harrison. It was just about one year ago that the 24-year-old lefty was pulled from an expected Sunday start against the Dodgers as part of the shocking blockbuster trade for Rafael Devers.
After an impressive start to his Giants tenure, Harrison wasn’t quite able to maintain the hype stemming from his designation as the best left-handed prospect in baseball at the time. The San Jose-born De La Salle product was 9-9 over 35 starts in the big leagues with a 4.48 ERA. Even with some benefit of hindsight — more on that shortly — it’s hard to argue against making the Devers trade 10 out of 10 times.
Still, the timing of his return could not be more annoying. While San Francisco has experienced one of its roughest seasons in recent memory, in part because of Devers struggling at the plate to begin the year, Harrison now plays for a division-leading Milwaukee team where he’s become an absolute stud. Through his 10 starts this season, he’s gone 6-1 with a 1.57 ERA and some impressive advanced stats to boot, all with ostensibly two pitches.
Seeing the improved Harrison won’t be fun for Giants fans, as pitching remains a considerable weak spot for San Francisco. There’s an argument that this technically won’t be a revenge game given that he’s two teams removed from SF, and that the Devers trade was desperately needed. However, the stop in Boston lasted for just 12 Major League innings, Devers hasn’t looked like the MVP candidate that was promised and, perhaps most notably, it’s clear Milwaukee was able to give him something the Giants couldn’t: a proper chance.
“I was sitting here just the other day, thinking, ‘Man, most of my time with the Giants I was banged up, just trying to survive out there, battling,’” Harrison told the Athletic in a story published last month. “So for the Brewers to be able to see that this is who I could be, and hopefully maintain that, it’s just cool to see.”
As the rest of the baseball world gushes over Harrison’s strong start, the Giants probably won’t think it’s as “cool” to see what he could have been for them when he takes the mound for a start against his former team on Tuesday.