“I think it’ll help me out a lot because I can throw it in-zone and for a putaway, so I won’t lean on the changeup as much,” Whisenhunt said earlier this spring. “I can save it for later in games with the changeup and then kind of use the slider as a setup pitch or the back end of a count -- 0-2, 1-2 count -- instead of them sitting changeup or fastball. It’ll help out a lot, I think.
“It’s still a work in progress, but it’s a lot better now than it used to be. So I’m happy with where it’s at.”
Whisenhunt logged a 5.17 ERA over 27 starts in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2024, but he recorded a 2.34 ERA over 14 home starts in Sacramento and still showed his swing-and-miss stuff by piling up 141 strikeouts over 109 2/3 innings. With a 92-94 mph fastball and an elite changeup, Whisenhunt has the tools to be a bullpen option for the Giants right now, but the organization remains committed to keeping him on the starter plan and helping him develop into a more complete pitcher this year.
Whisenhunt is expected to join fellow pitching prospects Carson Seymour (No. 20) and Carson Ragsdale (No. 21) in Sacramento's rotation to start the year and should be part of the next wave of young hurlers who could debut in San Francisco in 2025.
Whisenhunt certainly left a good impression after striking out two over three scoreless innings in his two Cactus League appearances for the Giants this spring.
“It was only two outings, but [he did] everything we were asking him to do,” manager Bob Melvin said. “First-pitch strikes, getting ahead. He’s moved over on the rubber a little bit to give a different look to the lefties as well. Righties have always been a little bit easier for him as a left-handed pitcher with the changeup. It’s about getting ahead, refining your third pitch, which is his slider, which he’s thrown here as well. It’s a very talented guy, for sure.”
