Objectively, I know I should be tempering my expectations. Kyle Harrison has not even pitched 80 innings this year. He gave up too many homers in the minors and walked way too many. Last night was the first time all season he pitched into the sixth inning, much less the seventh. There is going to be a tough stretch for him as a major leaguer this year. There has to be.
But also, who gives a shit? This is fun!
A week ago, I talked about Harrison in advance of his debut, and I was pessimistic. I was somewhat pessimistic about Harrison’s performance — I gave it a “Hey, even if he’s bad, that doesn’t mean he’s bad bad” hedge, but I was absolutely skeptical that he was ready — but I was extremely pessimistic that, even if he was good, he would give the team the lift it needed (and still needs):
The reason it won’t work is that what the Giants are really looking for here is a lift … I am sorry, but they are not going to find that lift in Kyle Harrison. If the offense is scoring 3 runs a game, the goal has to be to improve the offense, not to get the pitching to give up just 2 runs a game. Even if Harrison is great, the team can’t be competitive with the hitters falling on their faces every night.
You don’t need to click the link to read me being extremely wrong, by the way. You can just trust me that I was extremely wrong and then leave it at that and not see more extremely wrong things I said. Wholly unnecessary!
And look, the Giants might well fall on their faces tonight and for the next week and prove me right. Everyone not named Wilmer Flores might go 11 for their next 97, and even worse with runners in scoring position. In 24 hours, we could all be back groaning about the stupid Giants being stupid, stupidly.
But nothing can take away the excitement that Harrison brought last night. From the moment he stepped on the mound, he showed every bit of the potential we’ve heard about since he got drafted. He struck out the first five batters of the game on his way to 11 strikeouts total, the most by any Giants starter in his second start ever, and the first to even get to 10 since Jeff Tesreau in 1912. In his 6.1 innings, he gave up just three hits and two walks, and looked every bit the dominant ace that he’s supposed to be by 2025.
But more importantly, the vibes were spectacular. The team could still be bad (see: two paragraphs ago), but for one night, every Giants fan was massively invested in this team, on the edge of their seat, awaiting the next pitch with bated breath. Patrick Bailey brought a lot of excitement to the team with his hot June, but this was another level of hype, and one that was richly deserved. The crowd was just as loud, just as raucous as a crowd had ever been in that building, and it was entirely because of Kyle Harrison.
We’ve been hearing about Harrison for years, and he came through. We had a prospect who’s been getting tons of hype, and he earned it. We’ve been waiting for the next big thing in San Francisco, and there he was, standing on the mound, blowing away Elly De La Cruz.
Isn’t that what baseball is all about? If you follow the minors, isn’t that exactly what you hope for out of just one of the guys you spend years watching and hearing about and seeking out reports about and hoping for and dreaming about? Unless you’re a Braves or Dodgers fan, it’s incredibly rare to have a prospect come up who’s worth all that. The Giants haven’t had one since Madison Bumgarner, who came after Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey in a run that totally spoiled us all. Now we get to look at Harrison and think, you know, just maybe…
The Giants have had other big prospects debut recently. Joey Bart was a number two overall pick and he had plenty of hype. Heliot Ramos, at one point, had everyone raving about his tools. Luis Matos and Marco Luciano both made eagerly awaited debuts this year.
None of them came out of the gate with a game like Harrison had last night. None of them announced themselves to the fanbase with a performance that said, “I am the future.” That’s rarefied air, the kind of thing that fans remember for years to come, that keeps you going, that keeps you excited when things aren’t going well. If you remember how special Lincecum’s starts were in 2008, when the Giants gave 274 plate appearances to Emmanuel Burriss and his .686 OPS, then you know how important that can be. One phenom can make millions of people interested in a bad team for years.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, aren’t we? Like I said up top, Harrison will have struggles. Not every game will be the kind of resounding success he had against the Reds. There will be struggles, and he will learn lessons, and it’s important to not get too down in those moments, because they’re entirely normal.
For now, though, get hyped up for Kyle Harrison’s next start. This is why baseball is fun. This is why we watch. A lot of times in life, you don’t know when you’re in the good part. You don't know what you'll look back on and say, “Holy shit, that was cool.” Last night was one of those moments. Harrison's next start might be one too.