The Giants’ system has a lot of they-might-be-relievers and a lot of toolsy position players who swing and miss too often to project as regulars, with some star potential beyond the top few names and enough pitching depth that they shouldn’t be going after back-end starters or right-handed relievers in free agency or trades. They do need one of these recent first-rounders to pan out, though, as the current front office has not had much success with those picks so far, while the Giants as an organization haven’t had a real hit among first-round picks since Zack Wheeler in 2009.
The top left-handed pitching prospect in baseball, Harrison had a rough go in his Triple-A debut last year, walking 16.3 percent of hitters — at least some of which was likely attributable to the automated ball-strike system (ABS) used in some Triple-A games — and missing a month with a hamstring injury, but he showed much better in his seven major-league starts, including throwing a lot more strikes than expected. Harrison comes from a low three-quarters arm slot that makes him very tough on left-handed hitters, working 92-97 mph with hard running life, along with a hard slurve that mostly breaks downward and a changeup that’s potentially plus and has good separation from the fastball. It’s not an easy delivery to repeat, so his command will probably always be a question, but the improved control in the majors was a great sign, and his sudden trouble with the longball (eight homers allowed in 34 2/3 major-league innings, four of them in a single start) seems fluky with three coming from left-handed batters.
