Q&A with Giants prospect Kyle Harrison

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Left-hander Kyle Harrison was known more for his pitchability than his stuff as an amateur, but that hasn't been the case since the Giants signed him for $2,497,500 as a third-rounder out of a De La Salle High (Concord, Calif.) in 2020. He showed increased power on his pitches during instructional league that fall and throughout his pro debut in 2021, when he earned Low-A West Pitcher of the Year honors after leading the league in ERA (3.19) and strikeouts per nine innings (14.3).

Jim Callis: What was your Draft experience like? Did you expect to go earlier than the third round or did you know you were going to go later and get paid late first-round money? You also had a UCLA commitment and went through the Draft in a pandemic year where you really didn't get to pitch very much.

Kyle Harrison: The Draft was definitely a weird situation going into it, not really knowing much about what would happen, the rounds, all that. I just kind of kept an open mind. I really just had a number and took the time to think about whether I wanted to go to UCLA or pursue my pro career. And I can't say enough about UCLA and what they have there and the pitchers that go through that program and [head coach] John Savage's pitching program and all that. I'm from Southern California, so I couldn't go wrong with UCLA, but I felt like the Giants had a lot to offer. And I'm glad I chose this route and I'm ready to get going this year.

Callis: I saw you pitch at the PDP League in 2019 and you had the reputation of polished lefty, throws strikes, low 90s. And then I was talking to guys who saw you in instructional league, and they said, 'he's hitting 97 and throwing 94-95.' What happened between your brief senior season and then instructional league that your velocity took off like that?

Harrison: Honestly, I think it was me growing into my body. I also think it was me getting stronger physically in the weight room. It was me working harder in the offseason, during the pandemic. I really took that as a time to grow because I knew that I wanted to be in pro ball and I wanted to be able to compete with guys who are a lot older than me. And I really took that to heart and worked as hard as I could and I guess those results paid off velo-wise.

Callis: Were you surprised when you found out how hard you were throwing?

Harrison: Yeah, I was surprised. It was the first time where I had really thrown on Trackman and all that stuff going into pro ball, so I got to see all the spin rates and stuff that was all new to me. I was throwing my first live bullpen and looking at the data and stuff I'm like, "Whoa, was it really that hard?" It was definitely something that I could build off of and it helped me take my game to the next level.

• Giants Spring Training report

Callis: The nice thing was it just wasn't short stints in instructs but you threw hard all last season too. Did you have any expectations for your pro debut? What surprised you the most about your first season in pro ball?

Harrison: No, I didn't really have any expectations. Honestly, I just kind of hold myself to a high standard, so I wanted to wanted to debut with an affiliate. Going through that first whole season, I've learned a lot. The ups and downs through it all, you're going to have bad stints, you're going to have good stints. I took it personal to not to get too hard on myself like I like to do and learn a lot of great things along the way from teammates and coaches. I was surrounded by great people, a great coaching staff and I couldn't be happier to be in San Jose last year and learn so much.

Callis: You guys won the championship at San Jose and that pitching staff led the entire Minor Leagues in strikeouts. You had a good year, Ryan Murphy, Carson Ragsdale, Prelander Berroa, Randy Rodriguez and on and on. So taking you out of this, if you're going to put together an arsenal with their stuff, which pitches would you take from which guys?

Harrison: I would take the control from Murphy on that staff. Probably the heater from Randy, Randy's got a good heater. And then secondary stuff, everyone has good secondary stuff on that staff. From a staff standpoint, we were really competing with each other and it really elevated everyone's playing level, having that amount of good guys around you. And then performing well, it makes the others want to perform well. So that's what I took most out of that, that atmosphere.

Callis: How would you evaluate your stuff? If you were ranking your pitches from best to worst, how would you line them up.

Harrison: I would say my fastball is one of my best pitches along with my slider. I kind of put those on the same plane, and then the changeup. I need to work on control with it, working with a new grip on that, a two-seam grip. I would say I've got to get better in all aspects. I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I plan to go after each day like it's my last day, and I'm going to work hard to try to better my arsenal day by day.

Callis: How are your control and command coming along? It's pretty typical when your stuff takes a jump like that, it's different stuff so it's not as easy necessarily to harness it right away. Are you still adjusting to throwing 95-97?

Harrison: I'm still ironing it out. It's early in Spring Training but that's definitely something that I need to work on the most. I've talked to the pitching staff here and all the coaches here, and that's something that we really are working on with me. I think it'll just come down to me getting more reps off the mound.

Callis: Fans are always asking us for comparisons. Have you heard any comparisons for you? Is there one in particular that stands out that you like?

Harrison: I've been hearing from guys Chris Sale. That's a guy who I liked to watch growing up and I have a sweeper like his and that fastball up in the zone and just the way he kind of goes after guys.