Top prospect Harrison adjusting at Triple-A

SAN FRANCISCO -- Kyle Harrison has experienced some ups and downs at Triple-A Sacramento early this season, but the 21-year-old left-hander is showing signs that he’s beginning to find his groove with the River Cats.

Harrison, who is ranked the Giants’ No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, delivered his best performance of the season on Thursday, when he struck out five over three shutout innings in Triple-A Sacramento’s 2-1 loss against Round Rock. Harrison allowed one hit and walked three while throwing 55 pitches, lowering his ERA to 5.00 over four starts this year.

The De La Salle High School (Concord, Calif.,) alum has given up one run on five hits over 6 1/3 innings over his last two outings, though he has yet to complete four innings and will have to continue to lock in his command to ensure he can pitch deep into games more consistently.

Harrison has issued 13 walks over nine innings so far this year, though fellow pitching prospect Tristan Beck, who opened the season in the River Cats rotation before earning his first big league callup with the Giants last week, noted that all Triple-A pitchers are still in the process of adjusting to the new automatic balls and strikes system this year.

This is the second year the electronic strike zone has been used at the Triple-A level, but Beck said last year’s system gave pitchers an inch off each edge of the plate, making the horizontal plane 19 inches wide. This year, those inches were shaved off, cutting the plane down to 17 inches, the exact width of the plate. There was also a focus on lowering the top of the zone to 52 percent of the batter’s height, giving pitchers less room to play with there.

“He’s continuing to get better,” Beck said of Harrison. “Obviously, this year I think the main topic of conversation down there has to be the strike zone and the adjustments that we’re all going to have to make going through that. But he’s hanging in there. He’s done a great job and anyone who’s gone through Triple-A this year has probably had an outing that hasn’t quite gone according to plan. But he bounces back really well. Obviously, he’s out there working every single day and he’s keeping his head up. He’s got a great mentality about him.”

Could the new ABS system make it more difficult for the Giants to evaluate their Triple-A pitchers?

“Evaluating pitchers in the Pacific Coast League has always been a challenge,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I’m sure the automatic strike zone, the ABS system, does not make it easier because I think pitchers are still learning about the system. Of course, if it’s not favoring them – this is not just Giants Triple-A pitchers, but all pitchers, if it’s not working in their favor, they’re going to be kind of annoyed to some degree or another.

“It could impact the evaluation, but the one thing that we know is the environment is going to be the same for everybody. Things like ABS, new rules, things like that, they don’t impact us disproportionately, so we don’t get to say that’s a problem for us. It’s who can compete best within the system in place.”

Triple-A Sacramento
Outfielder Mitch Haniger is inching closer to making his season debut for the Giants. Haniger blasted his second home run in four rehab games with Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday and was expected to return to Oracle Park on Sunday to check in with the Giants’ training staff.

Kapler said there’s a possibility Haniger (left oblique strain) and Austin Slater (left hamstring strain) could both be activated during the club’s next series against the Cardinals, which would be a boon for the Giants given their struggles against opposing left-handed pitchers early this year.

Double-A Richmond
Catcher Patrick Bailey, who is ranked the Giants’ No. 11 prospect, is enjoying a hot start at Double-A Richmond, where he’s hitting .340 with an .851 OPS and one home run over 13 games this year.

With Roberto Pérez expected to miss the entire season due to right shoulder surgery and Austin Wynns no longer in the organization, the Giants could use more upper-level catching depth, so Bailey could move quickly if he continues to swing the bat well.