The San Francisco Giants don’t have much time to mess around. This is one of the most difficult situations they’ve found themselves in in recent years. Perfection is required from now on.
The Giants are currently 3.5 games away from the third wild card spot in the National League, and they face an important series against the Seattle Mariners starting Friday night.
The Mariners fired their head coach on Thursday and must take advantage of this opportunity.
They also have some tough decisions to make regarding September call-ups. San Francisco can add two players to its roster, taking it from 26 to 28.
They could use reinforcements on both sides of the baseball, but pitching seems to be the most important thing. Their pitching hasn’t been bad, but they could also use guys who can go a few innings.
Unfortunately, the Giants don’t have the luxury of resting their best pitchers. Unlike other teams in Major League Baseball that have already secured a playoff spot, San Francisco’s pitching staff needs to be ready to go.
The question now is who will be called up to the team. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com believes it could be Mason Black, calling him a “potentially impactful player.”
“Black, Lehigh’s highest-drafted pitcher ever (third round, 2021), relies heavily on a 92-94 mph sinker and a swinging 82-85 mph slider. He got off to a hot start in Triple-A this year before being penalized with an 8.79 ERA at San Francisco in May. After his demotion, he struggled until he got going in August. He has a 2.91 ERA in four starts this month with a 4.59 overall grade and 87 strikeouts in 84 1/3 Triple-A innings.”
Black had a chance to show what he could do for the Giants earlier this season, but struggled mightily. This was no surprise considering he is only 24 years old and this was his first major league appearance, but it was still disappointing.
He was sent back to the minor leagues, where he began to find his feet again.
Although his call-up would give San Francisco another pitcher for the rotation or bullpen, his ERA of 8.79 and the four home runs allowed in 14 1/3 innings pitched are cause for concern.
They don’t have time for a young player’s poor performance, which makes their decisions much more difficult than they normally would be at this time of year.
