Too much pitching? Nah, perhaps too many early off-days

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Giants expect their enviable starting pitching depth to be one of their biggest advantages throughout the regular season. But their abundance of arms could present some early scheduling challenges for manager Gabe Kapler.

With six capable starters on their projected Opening Day roster, the Giants will have to find a way to ensure everyone gets enough work to stay sharp during their season-opening road trip to New York and Chicago, especially since the six-game swing includes two off-days.

• Opening Day roster projection

Logan Webb is slated to start the first game at Yankee Stadium on March 30 and should be followed by veteran Alex Cobb, assuming he gets past the nagging left knee bruise he sustained after taking a 102 mph comebacker off his leg on March 11.

The Giants are keeping the rest of their rotation plans under wraps for now, though Kapler noted that the Yankees and White Sox both feature lineups that skew right-handed. That could give an edge to right-handed pitchers like Ross Stripling, Anthony DeSclafani and maybe even Sean Hjelle, who has been a consistent standout in camp in the spring.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said on the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast of the team’s 10-0 loss to the Guardians on Thursday night that Hjelle “has a really good chance of breaking with us.” So the 6-foot-11 rookie seems poised to open the season in the bullpen and serve as a second swingman type alongside Jakob Junis.

San Francisco will also have to fold in lefties Alex Wood and Sean Manaea, who fired six innings of one-run ball in the Giants’ 6-3 split-squad win over the White Sox at Camelback Ranch on Thursday afternoon.

“We have like seven or eight people who are starters,” Kapler said. “Guys are going to have to pitch. We’re going to have to get guys innings. It’s probably about keeping guys healthy, fresh and strong -- and maybe less about a different look. We’ll do our best to take all of those things into consideration, but it’s a little bit of a puzzle early on.”

San Francisco has discussed the possibility of piggybacking pitchers early in the season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see someone like DeSclafani -- whose workload might need to be monitored more carefully since he’s coming off right ankle surgery -- make a start and be relieved by Manaea, who has experience working out of the bullpen.

Regardless of the scenarios, Kapler said he isn’t worried about having to massage egos.

“These guys are great,” Kapler said. “Always to some degree, but this is not a group of star, ‘It has to be my way,’ kind of guys. They’re pretty flexible and open to what’s happening. I think they see that we have six or seven starters and early on we don’t even really need a five-man rotation, so it’s just a matter of getting guys the innings they need.”

More Zaidi takeaways
• In addition to Hjelle, Zaidi strongly suggested Rule 5 Draft pick Blake Sabol will be on the Opening Day roster. Sabol is batting .359 with three home runs over 17 Cactus League games. With outfielders Austin Slater (left hamstring strain) and Mitch Haniger (left oblique strain) unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, Sabol could carve out a role as a left fielder/third catcher for the Giants.

“He’s swung the [bat] great,” Zaidi said. “He’s made a really positive impression in camp, on and off the field.”

• The injuries to Slater and Haniger also seem likely to open the door for speedster Bryce Johnson to make the team. Johnson, a non-roster invitee who appeared in 11 games for the Giants last year, is hitting .361 with an MLB-leading 12 stolen bases in 14 games this spring.

“He’s right there,” Zaidi said. “We’ve got a couple of injuries in the outfield, and he’s shown the dimensions he can bring to this team that, frankly, the rest of the roster doesn’t have.”

• Casey Schmitt, ranked as the Giants’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline, is slated to open the season at Triple-A Sacramento. Zaidi said the 24-year-old “looks really close” to being a big league option for the club.

Schmitt is a natural third baseman, but he’s expected to continue getting looks at shortstop, which could help accelerate his timeline to the Majors.

“He’s kind of a third baseman by trade, but he’s played shortstop at various levels,” Zaidi said. “He has the defensive actions for it, and he likes doing it. There are shortstops in the big leagues that didn’t necessarily come up playing that position full time. It’s just about showing the skill level to do it.”