SACRAMENTO – On the mound stood Kyle Harrison, the San Francisco Giants’ prized pitching prospect.
Casually ready within the batter’s field was Fernando Tatis Jr., the erstwhile San Diego Padres’ famous person.
It’s a tantalizing matchup that ought to play out for years to return within the Nationwide League West, both at Oracle Park or Petco Park, up and down the coast.
As an alternative, right here they had been within the Tuesday twilight simply blocks from the state capital, within the Triple-A River Cats residence opener in opposition to the El Paso Chihuahuas.
This gained’t be Harrison’s residence for lengthy. He might, possibly ought to, get known as up for his major-league debut by season’s finish.
“Time strikes quick, however that’s baseball. I’m excited to be right here and wish to get to the following step,” Harrison stated after getting no resolution in a 10-8 loss.
His Triple-A debut was a combined bag: 62 pitches, two-plus innings, 4 strikeouts, 4 walks, one (infield) hit, and one run that was charged to him after he exited within the third inning following back-to-back walks.
Three years in the past, he was at De La Salle Excessive-Harmony, having delivered a North Coast Part title as a junior earlier than COVID benched the 2020 season. He’s already wowed by way of two minor-league seasons, beginning at Single-A San Jose in 2021, then Excessive-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond final season.
At 6:49 p.m., contained in the half-filled Sutter Well being Park (introduced crowd of 9,548), it was time for Harrison’s first pitch of Triple-A ball.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-hander promptly buzzed Tatis with a belt-high, inside fastball at 95 mph.
And what was Tatis, a 2021 Main League All-Star on a $340 million contract, doing right here? He’s taking part in for El Paso on a rehab project, working towards an April 20 return to the Padres as soon as he completes his 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing medication. He missed all of final season, initially due to a fractured left wrist earlier than the PED suspension was levied.
Harrison walked Tatis twice on 5 pitches.
“I actually needed to only exit and assault him, however clearly I didn’t have my stuff right now, and I ended up strolling him,” Harrison stated of the preliminary encounter with Tatis. “Towards a man like that, I wish to get forward, keep forward and put him out as fast as potential, however simply couldn’t try this right now.”
Watch: Kyle Harrison, #SFGiants pitching prospect, talks after his Triple-A debut for @RiverCats vs El Paso Chihuahuas.
The LHP from Danville & De La Salle HS opened with 1 of two walks to Fernando Tatis Jr, completed with 2-plus IP, 1 run, 1 hit, 4 Ks, 4 BBs, 62 pitches pic.twitter.com/kSbXklgrHl— Cam Inman (@CamInman) April 5, 2023
First Triple-A punchout for Kyle Harrison 🔥
The highest-ranked @SFGiants prospect dials it as much as 96.3 mph within the 1st: pic.twitter.com/k6Xcl5pqDo
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 5, 2023
Harrison, 21, grew up 77 miles southwest in Danville. After excelling at De La Salle, he bypassed his UCLA dedication as soon as the Giants wooed him with a $2.5 million signing bonus, over 3 times the slotted quantity for a third-round choose.
He is aware of their current historical past.
“I watched their reign, with Timmy, MadBum, et cetera. It’s a fantastic group and I’m completely satisfied to be in it,” Harrison stated, “And I’ll attempt to win some extra championships, for certain.”
Harrison seemed very a lot the a part of a big-time prospect, even when his command was off in opposition to Tatis and others.
Of his 62 pitches, 30 had been strikes.
“They’re squeezing him,” bellowed a fan behind residence plate, clearly unaware that Triple-A pitches are being known as by robotic umpires this season, whereas a real-life umpire alerts from behind the plate.
Regardless of the management points, Harrison confirmed moxie battling from the stretch, and his fastball routinely checked in between 94 and 96 mph. His first Triple-A strikeout got here in at 96 mph in opposition to Tim Lopes, the Chihuahuas’ No. 3 hitter.
“Making some good pitches in sure counts, that could be a good factor to remove from that,” Harrison added. “Understanding that my stuff can play and it’s only a matter of refining it and getting within the zone extra.”
After a groundout stranded Tatis at first within the opening body, Harrison calmly stepped down the dugout stairs and teammates greeted him with fist bumps and high-fives.
An inning later, he escaped with two runners on base, courtesy of a full-count strikeout on an 81-mph slider. (He depends on his fastball and slider whereas making an attempt to grasp a changeup.)
Final season, he recorded the very best strikeout price (14.8 per 9 innings) within the minors since 1960.
The right way to price Harrison’s Triple-A debut? A piece-in-progress, simply because it gave the impression to be in spring coaching, the place he had combined ends in three outings for the big-league membership. A month in the past, in his Cactus League debut, he gave up two runs on three hits and a stroll over one inning.
“Spring coaching was nice, studying from a number of guys, whether or not it’s asking pitch grips or how they dwell their life and go about their enterprise,” Harrison stated.
Listed below are Kyle Harrison’s opening two pitches to Fernando Tatis Jr. (95 mph ball, 94 mph foul) pic.twitter.com/h508gqWDaZ
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) April 5, 2023
At 7:29 p.m. Tuesday, Harrison calmly strode off the diamond, with the identical composed demeanor as the 2 earlier innings.
How lengthy till he walks off the Oracle Park mound? Time will inform, however yet another factor to learn about Harrison’s Tuesday outing: the pitch clock shouldn't be a problem for a quick-pitching, hard-throwing ace-in-waiting.
“Possibly I used to be somewhat extra amped than I prefer to be, however then once more, that’s nearly going again to work and staying content material,” Harrison stated. “I can’t wait to get again on the market Sunday.”
