Carson

Whisenhunt

Melvin added that Verlander, who is dealing with a nerve-related issue in his pectoral, felt fine playing catch on Wednesday. However, he wasn’t going to be ready to make his next start on Saturday against the Nationals. Nothing official regarding his replacement in San Francisco’s rotation, but Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, who threw a scoreless frame in relief on Wednesday, are stretched out enough to provide multiple innings. The dark horse candidate is top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt, who boasts a sparkling 3.00 ERA and 52/7 K/BB ratio this season at the Triple-A level.

The Giants have already removed Jordan Hicks from the starting rotation and replaced him with Hayden Birdsong, but Birdsong has had some command concerns in the past. If the Giants were to have to move anybody else into the rotation, it might be Whisenhunt, who has a 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 52:7 K:BB ratio in 51 innings this season. He’s the top pitching prospect in the Giants’ organization and is knocking on the door of the big leagues.

A late-season cameo is looking pretty unlikely here. Whisenhunt, who missed time in July and August with an undisclosed injury, has a 5.94 ERA in four starts since joining Sacramento. He’s also not someone who needs to be added to the 40-man this winter, so the Giants have some extra incentive not to promote him.

Another rough outing for Whisenhunt, as this one comes after he gave up six runs (five earned) over 3 2/3 last Friday. The southpaw has struck out 11 in eight innings, but the 13.50 ERA over those frames is a little more indicative of how he’s pitched. There’s no reason for long-term panic, however, as Whisenhunt is a southaw with one of the best change-ups you’ll see from a prospect — or just pitchers regardless of levels — and a fastball that can get up to 97 mph. He’ll obviously need to pitch better to do so, but this is absolutely a pitcher that could help fantasy rosters by the end of 2024.

Meckler had an outside chance at making the club’s 27-man Opening Day roster, but he still showed promise during his time at spring camp. In his 13 games, the 23-year-old slashed .423/.483/.577 with two doubles, one triple and nine RBI. He’ll continue to develop at the Triple-A level where he posted a .965 OPS across 24 games last season. Whisenhunt is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and figures to make an impact for fantasy managers down the road.

That’s never what you want to hear. The 22-year-old southpaw was the Giants’ second-round selection from the 2022 draft and Giants went nearly double the slot value to get him under contract. The degree of the sprain is not yet known — and will determine how long Whisenhunt will be sidelined for.

The Giants gave Whisenhunt a $1,868,720 bonus, which is significantly higher than $1,054,700 bonus that comes with being the 66th pick. The left-hander didn’t pitch for ECU this year because of testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, but when on the mound he shows an above-average fastball and one of the best change ups of any pitcher in the class. Whisenhunt could have fantasy relevance when he reaches the majors in the coming years.