Former Top Prospect Gives Giants Real Depth Coming off His Dominant Start

Pitching has primarily been the key to the San Francisco Giants' early success in 2025, particularly at the top of the rotation and in the bullpen.

The Giants relief corps has been the best in MLB statically, and Logan Webb and Robbie Ray are as lethal a pairing there is at the top of a rotation.

That being said, there have been some concerns mounting in the back half of San Francisco's pitching staff. The injury bug has sidelined future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, meaning the team has been forced to rely largely on unproven arms to fill in the gap.

One such pitcher has been Kyle Harrison, the man tabbed to fill Verlander's role on the staff until he returns from injury.

While the Giants may have initially viewed Harrison as a temporary placeholder, his latest start proves he can offer much more than that.

The lefty took the mound for his second big league start of the season on Friday night against the Miami Marlins and was dominant, tossing five shutout innings and racking up five strikeouts.

After struggling in his first start last Saturday, a performance like this one certainly inspired a lot of confidence about what he could do going forward.

Harrison looked to be in complete control all night, running his fastball up to 96 mph and producing 14 swings and misses.

According to MLB.com's George Richards, Harrison said that despite some minor fatigue, he felt great about the stellar performance.

"I feel great, just trying to go out there and do what I need for these guys," Harrison said. "I felt a little fatigued, but I think part of that was the humidity being a California kid and not being used to that. But I felt great coming out of the game, felt like I was where I needed to be. I will be ready for the next one."

For a team that is in need of quality depth in the back end of their rotation, production like this is very encouraging.

Getting it from Harrison, who was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to start the year and was converted into a bullpen arm when he was recalled earlier in May, is a positive sign that their former top prospect might be turning the corner in his career.

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