SF Giants cut Kyle Harrison, 3 others from MLB camp: Why they could all contribute in 2023

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The San Francisco Giants whittled their spring roster by four more players Tuesday, and it is reaching that point in camp that, while no major surprise they didn’t make the Opening Day roster, all four could be contributors this season.

The most notable cut was 21-year-old left-hander Kyle Harrison, the Giants’ top pitching prospect who was given a non-roster invitation to train with the big leaguers for the first time. Harrison, regarded as the top left-handed pitching prospect in baseball, entered camp with high expectations, and while he flashed the tremendous potential of his lethal arsenal, he too often struggled to locate it, something he will have to refine at Triple-A Sacramento, where he is expected to start the season.

A graduate of De La Salle (Concord), Harrison made three Cactus League appearances, tossing 3 ⅔ innings while allowing eight runs (a 19.64 ERA) and walking nearly as many batters (three) as he struck out (four). In 113 innings between High-A and Double-A in 2022, Harrison struck out more batters (186) than all but one other pitcher in the minor leagues while walking 49, with a 2.71 ERA.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and other Giants brass have said Harrison could be up in short order if he can show proficiency at Triple-A. However, with seven capable starters already on their 26-man roster, finding room in the rotation could prove challenging.

That said, Harrison and the two other pitchers among the cuts Tuesday, 25-year-old right-hander Keaton Winn and 26-year-old righty Tristan Beck, provide the Giants the exciting upper-level starting pitching depth they have lacked in recent years.

Winn, who grew up in the Iowa cornfields and was plucked out of a directional community college (Iowa Western) in the fifth round in 2018, was routinely recording radar gun readings in the upper 90s while flashing a split-finger that, on some days, was the talk of camp. He tossed five innings over three Cactus League appearances, allowing one run (1.80 ERA), with three strikeouts and three walks.

With only six starts in Double-A, Winn is considered somewhat more raw than Beck, who made 19 starts for Triple-A Sacramento in 2022.

Also touching the upper 90s with his fastball and unleashing a nasty back-foot slider to strikeout Oakland’s Seth Brown in his last outing, Beck has taken a big step forward from this time last year, when Gabe Kapler said, “he didn’t really look like an option to make a huge impact at the major-league level in ’22.

“Now,” Kapler continued, “you’re really starting to see that he has a good chance to do so.”

That leaves Isan Díaz, who made such a strong impression with Triple-A Sacramento after coming over from Miami that only a late-season oblique injury prevented him from being one of the Giants’ September call-ups. Díaz, 26, did nothing but build on that reputation this spring, batting .333 (7-for-21) with two home runs and two doubles in eight games. He left Monday’s game with a tight hamstring.

That, combined with Brett Wisely’s strong showing, should give the Giants some confidence in their middle-infield depth, despite entering camp with their starting second baseman, Thairo Estrada, as the only other player on their major-league roster who can back up 36-year-old Brandon Crawford (who was just shut down for a week with the same sore knee from last season).

When and if the need arises, it will be interesting to see who gets the call between Díaz, the more-versatile Wisely and top prospect Casey Schmitt, the latter two still among the 47 players remaining in camp. Díaz and Wisely are both left-handed hitters, while Schmitt bats from the right side. While all three have impressed this spring, Díaz and Wisely are both likelier early season options, as the Giants would like to get Schmitt, 24, more at-bats at Triple-A.