Gausman seizes on his chance to reenter
Less than 24 hours after Giants starter Johnny Cueto was removed with the bases loaded in consecutive innings, right-hander Kevin Gausman exited and reentered Wednesday’s game against the Rockies.
New spring training rules designed to protect a pitcher’s arm and limit pitch counts led manager Gabe Kapler to pull Gausman after four of the first five Rockies batters reached base in the second inning of an 11-7 win.
After Colorado first baseman Josh Fuentes singled into left field to bring home a run against the Giants starter, the Rockies added two more in the second against reliever Sam Wolff.
The Giants sent Gausman back to the mound in the bottom of the third and unlike Cueto — who failed to retire any of the five Texas Rangers batters he faced after reentering Tuesday’s
game — the righty kept the Rockies off the board.
“It’s not the traditional way, but I actually think it’s pretty awesome for starting pitchers,” Gausman said. “The whole thing is to get used to the up downs and get your three, four (innings).”
Gausman’s fastball velocity was slightly lower than it was in his first spring training outing, which also came against the Rockies, but his hardest pitch of the day was his last as he blew a 96.4mile per hour fastball past the swing of center fielder Sam Hilliard for a strikeout.
The Giants don’t expect Gausman to dominate during spring training because the veteran starter doesn’t plan to throw his best pitch — his splitter — all that often. Gausman said after his last start the splitter puts a lot of stress on his fingers, and Statcast data shows he only threw 10 of them in a 48-pitch start on Tuesday.
“My split was pretty good. There was a couple I was inconsistent with and just yanking them, but that’s such a feel pitch that more reps is definitely going to help,” Gausman said.
Last season, opposing hitters batted .097 against Gausman in at-bats that ended with splitters and struck out in 41 of those 75 plate appearances.
The chance to exit and reenter a game is unusual for pitchers, but it allowed Gausman to build up to three innings on Wednesday which should set him up to throw four in his next start and five in his final tune-up before the Giants begin the regular season.
“Kevin Gausman’s performance in spring training is more the icing on the cake and not the meat and potatoes right now,” Kapler said. “We just want to build him up.”
Barring injuries, Cueto is lined up to start the season opener in Seattle against the Mariners on April 1 with Gausman and free agent acquisition Anthony DeSclafani likely to follow in the final two games of the series. The Giants haven’t made any formal announcements regarding their rotation and Kapler has indicated he doesn’t plan to do so in the near future. VOSLER’S GLOVES GIVE HIM OPTIONS >> After spending most of his minor league career at third base and first base, Jason Vosler used his time at the San Diego Padres’ alternate site last summer to learn how to play the outfield.
“I made it a point to get out there and really try to work on the outfield and not necessarily have that fear of failure,” Vosler said. “The games didn’t really mean much, so it was a really good learning experience. I got to try out some things, got some coaching out there.”
Vosler has appeared at third base, second base, first base and in left field for the Giants during Cactus League play, showcasing the type of versatility the organization values. All the different positions he plays gives Kapler different ways to keep him in the lineup, but it’s his bat that’s convinced the Giants to take a longer look at him this spring.
After signing a major league contract with the Giants this offseason despite having zero big league games under his belt, Vosler is a candidate for the Opening Day roster thanks to his positional flexibility and the work he’s done at the plate in Cactus League play.
On Wednesday against Colorado, Vosler hit a 107.6mph double into the right center field gap off lefty Lucas Gilbreath, a 106.6-mph single off of righty Chad Smith and and was also robbed of a hit on a 104.9mph lineout that was gloved by starter Germán Márquez.
With a .333 average and an OPS above .900, Vosler may be in line to secure an Opening Day roster spot if first baseman Brandon Belt (mono) isn’t ready for the beginning of the season. The former 16th round draft pick out of Northeastern said he’s not looking too far ahead, but he said he’s working at each position he plays on a regular basis to stay sharp and maximize his opportunities. WILSON HAS NOTHING TO SHOW FOR THIS >> Giants infield prospect Will Wilson’s average is down to .192 and his OPS is hovering below .600, but he’s actually hitting the ball quite well.
In his first at-bat Wednesday against Márquez, Wilson drilled a 109.3-mph line drive directly at left fielder Raimel Tapia. In his next plate appearance, Wilson forced right fielder Charlie Blackmon to sprint back to the warning track to retrieve a 103.4-mph flyball that may have had enough air under it to carry over the brick wall in right field at Oracle Park.
Those at-bats followed two other impressive line drives from a live batting practice session that took place on a back field Tuesday night at Scottsdale Stadium against righthanded relief prospect Kervin Castro. With the hard-throwing Castro on the mound, Wilson hit a ball high off the left center field wall more than 400 feet from home plate and drove another pitch off the base of the fence in right center.
It certainly helped Wilson that there were no outfielders on the diamond when he stood in against Castro, because defenders seem to track down everything the 2019 first- round draft pick puts in play. Twice this spring Wilson has had extra-base hits taken away as Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar robbed him with a leaping catch at the left field wall at the Peoria Sports Complex before Indians center fielder Ben Gamel took away a potential triple by snagging a flyball in front of the 430-foot marker at Scottsdale Stadium last weekend