Kyle Harrison DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The San Francisco Giants have optioned left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison to Triple-A Sacramento. Harrison was competing for the final spot in the rotation but fell short. During spring training, Harrison logged six 2/3 innings to the tune of a high 10.80 ERA with a 2.10 WHIP. The 23-year-old made his MLB debut during the 2023 campaign and logged 34 2/3 innings with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. In 2024, Harrison tossed 124 2/3 innings in San Francisco and held a 4.56 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP. During this stint, Harrison tallied just 118 punchouts and held a 7.9 percent walk rate. The southpaw also generated a high 4.87 xERA with a .257 xBA, which placed him in the 14th and 24th percentile, respectively, among qualified pitchers. With Harrison being sent to Triple-A, Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp will compete for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison is expected to make his Cactus League debut on Friday against the Brewers, although Logan Webb will be the starter for that game and Harrison will follow. Harrison is anticipated to work as the fifth man in the rotation for the Giants to start 2025 but has yet to live up to some lofty strikeout potential he flashed in the minors. The southpaw boasted a 37.4 percent strikeout rate in the minors but owns just 22.5 percent in the majors, which is slightly below league average. On the flip side, some command problems he displayed in the minors with high walk rates have been improved at the big league level, coming in at a 7.8 percent walk rate through 31 career starts for San Francisco, slightly better than league average. The former third-round draft pick carried a 3.69 ERA (3.88 FIP) and a 1.28 WHIP into August last year (18 GS), but fell apart over his final six starts to the tune of a 7.76 ERA and 1.58 WHIP before being shut down for the final month due to right shoulder inflammation. He'll look to get back on track in 2025, but his spot in the rotation feels tenuous, so he'll need to get off to a good start. As such, the lefty's ADP sits well outside the top 300 picks, so he should only be considered in deeper league fantasy drafts.

San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said that left-hander Kyle Harrison will compete with right-hander Hayden Birdsong for the fifth starting rotation spot in spring training. The San Francisco Chronicle's Shayna Rubin reports that Harrison, who had a noticeable dip in velocity in 2024, said his velocity is back where he wants it and has corrected issues with his delivery that occurred after he suffered ankle and shoulder injuries. The 23-year-old was shut down early last year due to left-shoulder inflammation, which was probably the primary cause of his drop in velocity. With good health, he should have a leg up on the final rotation spot over Birdsong and could be due for a bounce-back campaign after posting a 4.56 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with a 118:42 K:BB in 24 starts (124 1/3 innings) in his first full MLB season in 2024. RotoBaller has Harrison outside of its top-100 starting pitching rankings.