San Francisco Giants Pitching Prospect Among Top MLB Rising Stars

MLB Pipeline finalized its position-by-position prospect rankings, posting their left-handed and right-handed lists, with the Top 100 overall prospects to follow on Friday.

Among the top prospects on their left-handed pitching list was Carson Whisenhunt of the San Francisco Giants, who came in eighth place among his peers.

Whisenhunt was a second-round pick back in the 2022 MLB draft by the Giants and signed for $1.86 million, which was well above slot value.

After being drafted, Whisenhunt received a little bit of run time in the Arizona Complex League and Class-A. He played in four games, starting three, accruing 7.2 innings pitched with a 0.00 ERA, 14 strikeouts to only one walk, and a 0.913 WHIP. It was a test trial to ensure he could produce and be effective right off the bat, and he began his rise to success in 2023.

Whisenhunt made it through Class-A, High-A and Double-A in 2023, rising through the levels at an exceptionally fast rate and producing at each along the way.

Across all three levels he pitched in 16 games, all starts, and in 58.2 innings would finished with a 2.45 ERA, 1.023 WHIP, 83 strikeouts to 23 walks, 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings, and only 37 hits allowed.

In 2024 he hit a roadblock as he dealt with a foot injury in August. He started the season at Triple-A Sacramento, as he started 27 games, threw 109.2 innings and finished with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.578 WHIP. He also had 141 strikeouts to 56 walks, with a rate of 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. He showed improvement throughout the year, putitng himself in a position to be on San Francisco's radar for one of the rotation's remaining spots.

After that, he has been named as a rookie of the year candidate by MLB.com for the 2025 season. This shows that many believe he has the ability to be successful as a rookie. He has shown his potential since he was selected by the Giants. Given a bigger opportunity to prove himself this coming year, he could continue his fast rise and potentially even make an MLB debut sooner rather than later.

Whisenhunt will be one of the many players that reports to spring training next month. San Francisco expects pitchers and catchers to report on Feb. 12. Position players are expected to report on Feb. 17. San Francisco opens its spring training schedule at Texas on Feb. 22.