Webb looks deserving of spot in the rotation
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. » The Giants’ front office will have some challenging decisions to make when building an Opening Day roster, but Logan Webb has given them an easy one.
The 24-year-old right-hander belongs in the starting rotation.
With five dominant innings of one-hit ball in a 7-0 win against the Indians on Tuesday, Webb continued a sensational spring that’s opened eyes and given the club every reason to believe he can be a major contributor in 2021.
“My main goal coming into the season and everything was just to show that I am better than what I showed the last two years and trying to stay on that,” Webb said. “I feel like I’ve had glimpses of being what I’m capable of and now it just comes down to being consistent.”
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler often warn about reading too much into spring training results, but Webb’s numbers can’t be ignored.
In five Cactus League starts, the Rocklin native has thrown 11 scoreless innings, allowed just three hits and racked up 17 strikeouts, including seven in a nearly flawless performance against Cleveland at Goodyear Ballpark.
“I try really hard to not really care about those sort of stat lines, but just going out there and competing and staying confident in all of my pitches,” Webb said. “When I do that, the numbers show up. But for me, it’s not looking at that sort of thing, it’s just staying confident.”
On a day when several Giants batter took advantage of strong wind that was blowing out toward right-center field, the only hit Webb allowed came when Cleveland first baseman Jake Bauers led off the bottom of the fourth with a line drive single to left field.
Webb’s ability to pitch around the hit and two Giants errors on Tuesday was perhaps the biggest sign of his development in the last year as he often strug
gled in 2020 when the defense melted down behind him. Despite miscues from third baseman Tommy La Stella and shortstop Brandon Crawford, Webb never appeared fazed and seems poised to secure a coveted spot in the Giants’ rotation.
After the Giants added veterans Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Aaron Sanchez to a starting staff that returned Johnny Cueto and Kevin Gausman, Webb seemed to be a dark horse candidate to lock down a rotation spot and a better fit to open the season in a long relief role or at the Giants’ alternate site.
By increasing the usage of a changeup that’s missed bats all spring and demonstrating better command of his fastball, Webb has not only pitched his way into the mix for an Opening Day roster spot, but made a compelling case that he should be starting every fifth day.
How the Giants create that spot remains to be seen, but Wood is a candidate to open the season on the injured list due to recent back trouble while Sanchez may not be stretched out to throw upward of 70 to 80 pitches by Opening Day.
If Webb turns a corner this year after posting a 5.47 ERA in 13 games last year, it would be a significant development for a Giants organization that’s struggled to develop homegrown pitching talent for the last decade. After winning World Series titles on the shoulders of homegrown aces Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum, the starting pitching well in the Giants’ farm system has dried up.
Webb, a fourth round draft pick in 2014, was viewed by Giants evaluators throughout his minor league career as an underrated prospect with the potential to become a frontline starter. After debuting at 22 in 2019, Webb has hit several bumps in his major league road, but if he’s able to carry over his form from the spring into the regular season, the ride should be much smoother.
GIANTS LINEUP CRUSHES PLESAC » Webb may have kept the ball in the park on Tuesday, but Cleveland starter Zach Plesac was unable to do so as Donovan Solano, Austin Slater and Brandon Crawford all hit home runs.
The Giants didn’t have a full Opening Day lineup against the Indians as third baseman Evan Longoria (plantar fasciitis) and first baseman Brandon Belt (mononucleosis) have yet to play the field this spring, but most batters who appeared on Tuesday figure to play often this season.
Mike Yastrzemski and Buster Posey each added a double against Plesac as Yastrzemski ripped a pitch into the right field corner while Posey smacked a ball high off the center field wall that marked his longest hit of the spring.
“It’s always great when you’ve got those guys out there and they were mashing the ball today,” Webb said.
Center fielder Mauricio Dubón accounted for the sixth extra-base hit against Plesac as he looped a double into shallow right field that bounced into the seats next to the foul line.