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Landen Roupp Has Quietly Become a Key Piece For the Giants

Originally posted on Just Baseball | By Michael Monreal | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 4:18 PM ET

Throughout this past offseason, the San Francisco Giants were linked to nearly every free agent arm available. Names like Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and most of all, Corbin Burnes, were continuously floated to the team by the bay.

Surprisingly, the only starter they signed was 42-year old Justin Verlander and up to this point, it’s been a tough season for the future Hall of Famer.

However, the main story of this rotation came at the back half. There were three young, talented arms that were fighting to take the fifth starter spot out of spring training. Kyle Harrison, the once top ranked left-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball, and Hayden Birdsong, a young righty with overpowering stuff, seemed like the heavy favorites.

However, it was the least known arm out of the three who impressed the organization in spring training. Landen Roupp snagged the role and, quite frankly, has never looked back. He’s quickly developed into one of the most reliable arms on the team and undoubtedly looks like this rotation’s number three starter.

Prior to 2025

Roupp was drafted in 2021 out of UNC Wilmington and showed well in his first pro season. He threw to the tune of a 2.60 ERA in just north of 107 innings. He quickly rose to the upper minors and became one of the better pitching prospects in the system.

In November of 2023, Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton ranked Roupp as the organization’s 12th ranked prospect. His calling card was the curveball, which Leighton graded a 70/70 and had this to say about.

Roupp’s primary weapon is a devastating curveball in the upper 70s that averages 18 inches of horizontal break and nine inches of vertical break at around 3,000 RPMs. He threw the pitch more than his fastball in 2023 (45% usage), holding opponents to a .130 batting average while landing it for a strike just under 70% of the time.

Roupp and his curveball eventually made it to the big leagues in 2024. In a couple of different stints with the club, mainly out of the bullpen, Roupp threw well. In just over 50 innings, he had a 3.58 ERA with a 1.371 WHIP.

However, it was in the last month and a half of the season in which Roupp really opened some eyes. In 34.0 innings, Roupp held a 2.38 ERA with a 3.08 FIP.

Fast Forward to Landen Roupp in 2025

With a staff carried by now All-Stars, Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, the bottom three of the rotation to start the year was a bit of a question mark. Fast-forward to the middle of July, and Verlander has been disappointing while Birdsong has been inconsistent.

It’s been Roupp who has stepped up and given the Giants exactly what they need. Although he hasn’t necessarily racked up innings (currently at 96.1 IP), he has been one of the more underrated starters in the National League and a true stopper for the organization.

Since the beginning of May, Roupp has given up three or less runs in every single start except one and in five of those games, he didn’t give up single run. The one blowup start was a six earned run outing against the Dodgers. However, he bounced back against the same lineup just a few weeks later and had one of the better starts of his young career.

A good day for Landen Roupp, who got roughed up at Dodger Stadium last month. He allowed two runs — one earned — in six innings and struck out eight while throwing a career-high 104 pitches. Roupp posted a 3.27 ERA in the first half, which ranks 13th in the National League. pic.twitter.com/4El5jUz8lb
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 12, 2025

Even though he’s not currently qualified, of all National League starting pitchers who have thrown at least 90 innings, Roupp is currently 13th in ERA with a 3.27. That puts him ahead of names like Mitch Keller, Sonny Gray, Jesús Luzardo, and Dylan Cease.

While he’s not striking out the world (8.31 K/9), he currently sits in the 82nd percentile in Breaking Run Value and 83rd in Hard-Hit Percentage. His advanced metrics do suggest that he may see a bit of regression but, up to this point, he’s found ways to get outs and put together a quality start in almost half of his outings.

Final Thoughts

With all of the talk about the Giants and big name starters throughout the offseason, Roupp has been a pleasant surprise for San Francisco. With Verlander having a rough year, Birdsong struggling of late, and Harrison getting traded to the Red Sox, he has stabilized a back half of the rotation that has desperately needed it at times.

While the Giants most likely need one more starter at the deadline, if a hypothetical playoff series were to happen today, Roupp is unquestionably San Francisco’s game three starter.

If October baseball is on the horizon by the bay, the emergence of Landen Roupp could just be one of this team’s keys to success.

This article first appeared on Just Baseball and was syndicated with permission.

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