WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three starts into Kyle Harrison’s season, his ERA sat at 7.50 and he had a 10:7 BB:K in six uneven innings. Those three outings came on the heels of a rough stint in big-league spring training. Coming off a season where several of the Giants’ top prospects struggled, Harrison’s start caused some unease amongst the faithful. But within the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats’ clubhouse, there was never any doubt that Harrison would find his groove.
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Over his last four outings, Harrison has allowed two runs in 13 2/3 innings while striking out 27. He’s given up just four hits and he’s still yet to allow his first Triple-A home run. But the walks had remained an issue until Saturday night, when he put together his best outing of the season. In four innings against the Las Vegas Aviators, Harrison didn’t walk a batter, while striking out seven and allowing one hit. His ERA is now down to 3.20 for the season.
“I’ve been telling everybody he’s gonna be fine,” River Cats pitching coach Garvin Alston said on Sunday. “He just needs to settle in.”
There have been no major overhauls to Harrison’s mechanics this season, but he has worked recently with Alston on a few minor changes designed to alter how he visualizes his pitches.
“Once he got that, he got into a nice little rhythm and timing,” Alston said.
Harrison needed just 50 pitches to get through his four innings on Saturday (the Giants are being conservative with his pitch count early in the season), and he had 24 called or swinging strikes. Las Vegas batters put only five pitches in play.
“I’m sure it’s probably a little bit of a relief for him,” River Cats manager Dave Brundage said of Harrison’s Saturday outing. “He’s carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders, and putting a lot of undue pressure on himself.”
Brundage noted that Harrison looked more relaxed on Saturday.
“His body language was a little different, and rightfully so,” he said. “He threw the ball well and had a little strut to him (Saturday) night, which is nice to see for a young man that’s trying to find himself and trying to establish himself here at Triple A.”
It’s likely no coincidence that Harrison’s best start came not long after the arrival of catcher Patrick Bailey, who joined the team from Double-A Richmond on April 26. Bailey, who was the Giants’ first pick in the same 2020 draft in which they selected Harrison in the third round, has struggled at the plate since his promotion (five hits in 27 at-bats), but he’s made a huge impact defensively. Brundage has been particularly impressed with Bailey’s preparation and his ability to retain information. He noted that Bailey and Harrison, in particular, have a good rapport.
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“He’s a person that makes everybody in our clubhouse better because he understands them. He works for them. And he has relationships with them,” Alston said of Bailey. “So for me, he’s like a key component to guys pitching better, and being in the zone more. I’m so happy he’s here.”
Like every pitcher in the Pacific Coast League this season, Harrison is contending with the new Automatic Ball Strike (ABS) system, which is used to call balls and strikes for the first three games of every six-game series. In the last three games, umpires make the ball-strike calls, but those calls can be challenged, with the ABS system used to determine whether the umpire’s call was correct or not. The strike zone within the ABS system is a strict 17 inches. For any pitcher, it is a challenge, but especially a pitcher like Harrison who has often lived on the edges of the strike zone.
“Even if you’re at 17 and a quarter inches, it’s a ball,” Brundage said. “It can affect (pitchers) in a lot of different ways mentally, physically.”
Aviators manager Fran Riordan noted that the ABS system has had a significant impact on pitchers who work at the top of the strike zone.
“ABS doesn’t call the high pitch strike,” said Riordan, who called Harrison’s outing on Saturday “outstanding.”
Riordan is a fan of the challenge format and, in general, believes the ABS system will promote throwing more strikes eventually, though for now walk totals in the PCL are way up over past years. Brundage noted that around the league it’s almost two-to-one in terms of walks allowed against innings pitched.
“It does make it a little bit tougher, and you try to make sure that our guys understand, hey, we’ve got to adjust,” Brundage said. “You can’t just keep walking guys. You’ve got to get the ball in the zone. And you’re probably going to give up a few more hits along the way.
“But, you know, if you got stuff like Kyle Harrison, you get the ball in the zone, it doesn’t matter who’s hitting, to tell you the truth. I was impressed with him (Saturday) night. He’s making adjustments along the way.”
(Photo of Harrison: John Williamson / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)