Top Giants prospect Kyle Harrison makes his return to the mound

Aug 7, 2023, 9:03 AM

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 01, 2023: Kyle Harrison #86 of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch ...

(Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

San Francisco Giants top prospect Kyle Harrison returned to the mound on Saturday, signaling the first step toward making his Major League Baseball debut in the coming weeks.

The left-hander tossed two innings of one-run ball while striking out two batters over two innings of work for AAA Sacramento, although Harrison had some control issues during an outing that saw the southpaw walk four over 42 pitches.

Harrison was stretched out to just under five innings of work per start before suffering a hamstring injury on July 4th. Following a month away, the 21-year-old will need a few more starts with the River Cats before making the jump to San Francisco’s starting rotation.

While Harrison will need a few more starts to work his way up to a starter’s workload, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters last week that you can expect to see the prized prospect sooner than later.

Kyle’s back, baby pic.twitter.com/XscvXLHRyV

— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) August 6, 2023

“He’s sort of on the accelerated rehab program,” Zaidi said of Harrison’s return and path to the Majors. “He was really right on the cusp when he had the hamstring injury, so it’s not going to take much for us to feel like he has checked the last box and is ready to come up here.”

Harrison, San Francisco’s top prospect and the 15th-ranked prospect in all of Major League Baseball, posted a 4-3 record and 2.71 ERA while striking out 186 batters over 113 innings pitched at the AA and High-A levels in 2022.

Over 18 starts with AAA Sacramento in 2023, Harrison holds a 4.62 ERA to go along with 98 strikeouts (fifth-most in the Pacific Coast League) over just 60.1 innings pitched.

The Giants have put themselves in a position to make a run at the postseason, but the team’s pitching depth took a hit last week when it was announced that right-hander Anthony DeSclafani would likely miss the rest of the regular season due to an elbow injury.

With the need for starting pitching growing in San Francisco, Harrison could be an important addition to the rotation down the final stretch.

Farhan says Kyle Harrison is on an "accelerated rehab program" and could join the Giants soon 👀 pic.twitter.com/6LuKjVnUA6

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 2, 2023