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Giants To Promote Hayden Birdsong

By Anthony Franco | June 25, 2024 at 6:35pm CDT

The Giants will call up pitching prospect Hayden Birdsong to start tomorrow against the Cubs. Manager Bob Melvin announced the news this evening (X link via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle).

It’s the first major league call for the 6’4″ right-hander. Birdsong was a sixth-round pick out of Eastern Illinois in 2022. He has quickly outperformed that modest draft stock. Birdsong pitched quite well in the low minors during his first full professional season. While he ran into a bit of trouble during his first crack at Double-A, he established himself as one of the more intriguing arms in the organization.

Baseball America ranked Birdsong the #5 prospect in the San Francisco system entering the season. The Athletic’s Keith Law slotted him 10th in February, while Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs ranked him 17th on their organizational write-up in April. All three outlets credit him with a velocity jump into the mid-90s during his first season in pro ball. Evaluators praise Birdsong’s 12-6 curveball and slider as well, though scouting reports haven’t been especially keen on his changeup.

FanGraphs writes that Birdsong is likely to end up in relief because of subpar command. The reports at BA and The Athletic were more optimistic on his chances of sticking in the rotation, though both outlets noted that he’ll need to continue improving to profile as a starter. Baseball America writes that the development of Birdsong’s command could be the x-factor, while Law suggests the biggest question is whether he’ll find a pitch with enough lateral movement to complement his north-south breaking stuff.

Even if Birdsong does wind up as a bullpen piece, that’d be a very good outcome for a sixth-round draftee who signed for less than $200K. The Giants will give him an opportunity to stick as a starter before considering that possibility. Birdsong has turned in excellent numbers for Double-A Richmond this year. In 11 starts, he worked to a 2.05 earned run average while punching out 30.7% of opposing hitters. While he issued walks at a lofty 10.1% clip, his stuff was clearly too advanced for Double-A.

The Giants bumped the 22-year-old to Triple-A Sacramento 10 days ago. Birdsong allowed five runs on eight hits and six walks over his first nine innings in the Pacific Coast League. Despite his limited experience at the top minor league level, he’ll get a look against MLB hitters. The Giants lost Keaton Winn to the injured list over the weekend, necessitating a fifth starter if they weren’t going to use a bullpen game.

Birdsong is not on the 40-man roster. The Giants will select his contract tomorrow and will need to make corresponding active and 40-man roster transactions. They don’t have any obvious candidates for a move to the 60-day injured list, so they’ll likely designate someone for assignment.

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San Francisco Giants Transactions Hayden Birdsong

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View Comments (30)
Post a Comment

30 Comments

  1. MLB Top 100 Commenter

    1 year ago

    G-men should trade this guy to St. Louis or Toronto!

    1
    Reply
    • Ann Porkins

      1 year ago

      But not Baltimore?

      1
      Reply
      • MLB Top 100 Commenter

        1 year ago

        Them, too! Although, the Orioles seem in pretty good shape without a Birdsong. 🙂

        3
        Reply
      • letsholdemandgohome

        1 year ago

        If they did traded him to the Orioles, they would be killing two birds with one stone.

        1
        Reply
    • Not a clever name

      1 year ago

      They need him for preying on the diamond backs

      1
      Reply
    • Balk

      1 year ago

      What would that package look like. Kid looks pretty promising

      Reply
  2. BBB

    1 year ago

    Plus Mason Black up for tonight.

    3
    Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      1 year ago

      Black is the new Orange and Black

      5
      Reply
      • Non Roster Invitee

        1 year ago

        Back is Black!

        Reply
  3. Shadow Banned

    1 year ago

    Sad, someone’s singing their swan song while Birdsong gets promoted.

    1
    Reply
  4. Shadow Banned

    1 year ago

    Are they trying to recreate the Vogelsong days with Birdsong. I feel like heard this song before

    1
    Reply
  5. John Bird

    1 year ago

    Jackson seems like a likely candidate to go.

    7
    Reply
  6. positively_broad_st

    1 year ago

    His B-Ref pic looks like Jackson Holliday…

    1
    Reply
  7. davemlaw

    1 year ago

    Kai Wei Teng seems like an obvious DFA.
    Or they trade Slater.

    2
    Reply
    • TigersLoveCinnamon

      1 year ago

      Agree about teng, he’s been awful this year. Thought he might figure it out with his huge k/9 last year. Slater isn’t going anywhere unless they’re out of it at the deadline

      Reply
    • Dennis Boyd

      1 year ago

      Serious question: does slater have trade value? If so, what would a theoretical return be?

      Reply
      • scottn59c

        1 year ago

        I don’t think Slater has any trade value at this point. He’s an older platoon player in the midst of his worst season yet.

        Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      1 year ago

      If the Giants fall out of WC contention in the next 30 days, Conforto will be the one traded, not Slater.

      4
      Reply
  8. agnes gooch

    1 year ago

    Congrats Birdy! You did it! So proud of you! I hope you thrive!

    2
    Reply
    • Non Roster Invitee

      1 year ago

      Loved Birdy. Great book and movie.

      Reply
  9. TeacherTim

    1 year ago

    “All I know is something like a bird within her sang…”

    Bird Song ftw!

    1
    Reply
  10. Logjammer D"Baggagecling

    1 year ago

    Great. Another rookie to shut out the cubs. Thanks Jed .

    1
    Reply
  11. barrybonds1994

    1 year ago

    They can call up Wade Meckler and move him to the 60-day IL if they don’t want to designate anyone. I think they may do just that, if they don’t want to designate anyone tomorrow.

    2
    Reply
    • tonyinsingapore

      1 year ago

      Excellent point/option, and one seemingly overlooked by the site.

      1
      Reply
  12. Steinbrenner2728

    1 year ago

    Fair to say that Ryan Vogelsong made the Giants sing like a bird to promote Birdsong.

    1
    Reply
  13. This one belongs to the Reds

    1 year ago

    I bet he thought it was a nice tune when they told him he was getting called up.

    Reply
  14. Bucket Number Six

    1 year ago

    The kid’s from Mattoon, IL. I wonder if he was a Cubs or Cardinals fan.⚾

    2
    Reply
    • Domingo111

      1 year ago

      Fun fact: 10+ years ago the giants had a pitcher named vogelsong which means birdsong in German.

      1
      Reply
      • oldgfan

        1 year ago

        Fun fact.
        Ryan’s favorite bird was a chicken.
        Inside an enchilada that he ate before every start.

        2
        Reply
    • Chad Dare

      1 year ago

      He was a Cubs fan.
      Super k8d from a great family.

      1
      Reply

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