SF Giants takeaways: Seymour, McDonald making strong early impressions in camp

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Luis Arráez rarely strikes out. No one in the majors makes more contact, and no one in the majors records fewer strikeouts. On his first day as a Giant, he made his modus operandi clear.

“I hate strikeouts,” Arráez said with a smile.

Striking out Arráez in any setting, then, is bound to raise some eyebrows. So was the case with right-hander Carson Seymour on Tuesday afternoon. Not only did Seymour strike out Arráez, but he got the three-time batting champion to whiff through strike three, something that happened only 19 times last season.

Seymour conceded that “it’s early for the hitters.” After all, it’s only February and there were only a handful of attendees on hand to witness the punchout. Still, spring training is all about making positive impressions in the pursuit of a roster spot.

And striking out the man who never strikes out? That’ll make an impression.

“He came out of the gates throwing, to be honest with you, like he’s thrown in January and February,” said manager Tony Vitello. “I’ve kind of mentioned some guys that have made progress in a short amount of time, at least in my eyes. … He’s had a good head of steam behind him since I’ve seen him.”

Given the Giants’ relievers are light on strikeout stuff, Vitello’s assessment that the team’s bullpen competition is “wide open” comes as no surprise.

Ryan Walker and Erik Miller have above-average strikeout rates and, uncoincidentally, are pretty much locks to make the Opening Day roster. Sam Hentges has a track record of racking up strikeouts, too, but his recovery from left shoulder and right knee surgeries could delay the start of his Giants tenure.

Aside from those three, San Francisco doesn’t have many guys with overwhelming power or high-octane stuff capable of getting a punchout. There exists, then, an opportunity for Seymour to snatch a spot despite his underwhelming 4.75 ERA and 6.11 FIP over 36 innings last season.

Seymour, 27, flashed excellent stuff during his time in the majors last year. His sinker averaged 96.1 mph and had excellent bite, while his hard slider got 7.3 inches more movement compared to comparable pitches.

The right-hander’s issue was a familiar one: location. The walks weren’t that bad, but his nine homers over 36 innings as a rookie were a red flag. Seymour assessed that he wanted to aim for specific locations with specific pitches, opposed to peppering the entire zone with his entire repertoire.

“I’m starting to figure out where my pitches work best and trying to throw it there, versus the other spots (in the zone),” Seymour said. “I think it was just too broad. I got away with it in the minors (by) having a general area rather than being more specific.”

Seymour, who’s likely more of a reliever than a starter at this point, wasn’t the only Opening Day hopeful with an impressive strikeout in recent days.

Right-hander Trevor McDonald dissected Rafael Devers when they met during Wednesday’s sim game, striking out the three-time All-Star on a disgusting slider that fell off the table and bounced in the dirt. As Devers walked out of the batter’s box, he repeatedly pointed at McDonald in admiration.

McDonald, 24, only pitched 15 innings with the Giants last season and didn’t make his season debut until mid-September, but the quality of those 15 innings caused his stock to spike.

On Sept. 21, with the Giants clinging to dwindling playoff hopes, McDonald took the mound at Dodger Stadium and held the eventual champions to one run over six innings. Five days later, McDonald pitched seven innings of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts against the lowly Rockies to end his season on a high note.

McDonald’s 1.80 ERA and 2.54 FIP during his brief time as a Giant contrast the inflated 5.31 ERA and 5.53 FIP he had over 29 appearances with Triple-A Sacramento. The right-hander’s sample was way higher with the River Cats (142 1/3 innings), but McDonald acknowledged that his stuff played better in the majors compared to the Pacific Coast League.

“A lot of it was mindset, too, knowing that you’re on a bigger stage and just locking in at a whole ‘nother level. But also, yeah, there is a difference throwing in (the majors) compared to Salt Lake City or something,” McDonald said.

McDonald put on some weight (“a little more body fat”) during the winter to help him persevere through the season. He’s also been working on his cutter, a pitch he threw sparingly last year that now projects as a “true cutter” thanks to a suggestion from assistant pitching coach Christian Wonders.

The right-hander projects more as a starter compared to Seymour, but he’s willing to pitch out of the bullpen if it means a spot on the Opening Day roster.

“My goal is to try to make it up there, and whatever it is, whatever helps the team, starting or relieving, it doesn’t matter,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s strikeout of Devers was all the more impressive considering what unfolded minutes earlier.

During Logan Webb’s first of two innings of work, he tried to attack Devers with a front-hip sinker. Instead of getting a whiff of a called strike, Devers connected and sent the sinker over the grass berm in right-center field, an exhibition of power on par with the batting practice pitches he’s launched to the top of the Charro Lodge.

“God damn!” said outfielder Heliot Ramos.

Webb conceded that he’d never throw an inside sinker to Devers but only did so because he was pitching in the no-stakes environment of a live bullpen. The right-hander hesitated when catcher Patrick Bailey called for the pitch, saying he probably would’ve shaken Bailey off had this game been real.

“Glad he’s on our side,” Webb said with a smile.

Along with Devers, Jerar Encarnacion had several encouraging swings during Wednesday’s sim game as well, hitting a double that one-hopped the right-field wall and a 109 mph opposite-field single. Encarnacion, 28, is a strong candidate for the Opening Day roster as a bench bat who possesses power and can play first base and the corner outfield positions.

“He’s huge and strong and got pretty good feet for a big guy,” Vitello said. “His vibes have been great since he’s been here, and the willingness to go between first and outfield — two very different spots — is there too.”

Birdsong to pitch in Cactus League opener

Right-hander Hayden Birdsong will be one of several pitchers to appear during Saturday’s Cactus League opener against the Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex, per Vitello.

Vitello did not definitively say that Birdsong will start the game, but Vitello did say that Birdsong will likely throw the first inning. Sunday’s starter for the Giants’ Cactus League home opener against the Chicago Cubs has yet to be announced.