San Francisco Giants Pitcher Has Knocked Spring Assignment out of the Park

One of the spring training competitions that the San Francisco Giants were holding that people were keeping a close eye on was for the last spot in the starting rotation.

Logan Webb is entrenched as the team’s ace and will be starting Opening Day. Behind him, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander will be holding down the fort. After that, Jordan Hicks is expected to be the No. 4 starter.

The fifth spot was technically up grabs, but many assumed that former top prospect Kyle Harrison would lock down the spot.

He was facing the most competition from Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp, but it was his job to lose.

His lack of velocity has been a topic throughout the spring, as he is sitting in the 91-92 mph range with his fastball. 

That alone isn’t enough for him to lose his spot, as it wasn’t something he was worried about. But, the No. 5 spot is being taken away by one of the other competitors.

It is going to be incredibly difficult for the Giants to not keep Roupp around with how dominant he has been during Cactus League games.

He has picked up right where he left off after coming back to the Major Leagues on Aug. 9. Outside a tough final appearance that only came about because Blake Snell opted to skip his final start, Roupp has a 0.89 ERA with opponents hitting a measly .162 against him across 30.1 innings.

This spring, he has taken his production to another level.

Roupp has made three Cactus League appearances, pitching 8.1 innings. He has allowed only two base runners, one hit and one walk, with 11 strikeouts.

A big reason for his dominance is the success he has found in adding a fourth pitch to his repertoire. It was his main assignment given to him by the team and he has knocked it out of the park.

“Having those four pitches is a game changer for me,” Roupp said via Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (subscription required). “Of course, my goal is to have four plus-plus pitches. But the cutter was to keep lefties off my curveball and to show them another pitch. I’ve put away the bigger slider and am going to go cutter full-time.”

He is now working with a changeup and shorter slider in addition to the curveball and sinker. His pitches have a lot of movement and he credits bullpen coach Garvin Alston for helping him adjust his grip and create a more easily repeatable motion.

Webb has also aided Roupp on this journey, helping him tighten things up with his slider and displaying them in exhibition games.

“We knew he could get through a season on a sinker and a curveball, if he wanted to, but we really liked the possibility of him throwing a changeup as well as a shorter slider,” pitching coach J.P. Martinez said. “He’s really embraced those pitches this spring. He punched out (the Padres’ Xander) Bogaerts on the changeup looking earlier this week. He threw a bunch of them versus Seattle in his other start. He’s getting really comfortable with that pitch versus lefties and righties. And the slider-cutter has shown really well, too. So I think he’s got a legitimate four-pitch mix now.”

It has been quite a scene to see unfold during spring training as Roupp has taken his performance to another level.

After shocking a lot of people making the Opening Day roster in 2024 as a reliever, he is on track to do the same in 2025, this time as a member of the starting rotation.

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