Giants Gamble with Young Starter is Beginning to Pay Off This Season

The San Francisco Giants announced a major shakeup to the starting rotation this weekend when news broke they were moving Jordan Hicks back to the bullpen.

Hicks was signed two years ago as a reliever with the intention of turning him into a starter, however that experiment failed and it became clear there were better options available to start games.

San Francisco will hope Hicks can find a resurgence back in his natural spot, but his presence in the rotation at the start of the year forced a difficult decision with how to fill out the rotation.

After much discussion, the final spot went to 26-year-old Landen Roupp despite the incredible spring training 23-year-old Hayden Birdsong had.

To his credit, Roupp had a strong camp as well and was a steady presence while working as a starter, but the potential of the younger Birdsong was enough for fans to scratch their heads.

After a dominant first two months out of the bullpen, Birdsong was the clear choice to take Hicks' spot, however the decision to put Roupp in the fold is starting to pay off as well as he looks to be getting stronger with every start.

Roupp Seems to Be On His Way to Becoming a Dominant Starter

Though he got off to a shaky start in 2025 and had a 5.10 ERA at the end of April, Roupp has started to step into his own over the last three starts.

In Saturday's 1-0 victory over the Athletics, Roupp had the best start of his career with six scoreless innings and just five hits allowed.

On the season as a whole, Roupp's ERA is down to 4.11 in 46 innings pitched this season with a WHIP of 1.435.

These numbers are far from elite and Roupp would be the first to tell you his overall body of work has not been good enough in 2025, however becoming a reliable starting pitcher is a process, and this is Roupp's first season as a full time starter.

If he can continue to get better over the next couple of months, not only is he going to have some really impressive individual numbers, but Roupp will also provide a massive boost to a rotation that is in need of one.

Though it may have been questioned at the time, the decision to give Roupp a rotation spot at the start of the year and let him learn on the job is finally starting to pay off.