SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Drew Smyly  admits that he didn’t completely feel like himself last year.

He returned to the Majors after missing the 2017 and ‘18 seasons while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but he initially struggled to pitch without fear of reinjuring his left elbow. Those concerns lingered and affected his performance on the mound, where he posted an 8.42 ERA over 13 appearances with the Rangers before being designated for assignment in June.

It wasn’t until the All-Star break that Smyly began to overcome that mental block and subsequently felt his command improve. He caught on with the Phillies, where he recorded a 4.45 ERA over 12 starts under now-Giants manager Gabe Kapler.

Smyly’s familiarity with Kapler was one of the factors that drew him to San Francisco as a free agent this offseason. The 30-year-old veteran signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Giants and will aim to continue his rebound now that his arm is feeling healthier and stronger.

“I feel much better,” Smyly said Monday after making his Giants debut in their 11-9 win over the D-backs at Scottsdale Stadium. “It’s a mental change, going from last year to this year. Last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I kind of forgot how to compete. It was two straight years without throwing a competitive pitch, so it was hard to kind of get those cobwebs out of my head, out of my arm, to feel like myself again. This year, there’s not even really a thought in my head about my elbow. I feel healthy. I feel really good.”

Smyly certainly looked good, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out two. He reached 94 mph on his fastball and said he hopes to continue working on throwing more of his offspeed pitches for strikes this spring. Smyly is expected to open the season in the Giants’ rotation and should help balance out a pitching staff that leans heavily right-handed at the moment.

“Drew Smyly had a really strong start for us,” Kapler said. “Right from the get-go, we recognized that he had a good fastball. It had a lot of life and finish to it. He was slamming his curveballs for strikes and throwing his cutter below the zone, doing all the things that he's been working on in his bullpen sessions.”

Davis’ big day
Outfielder Jaylin Davis has drawn a lot of buzz early in camp, regularly flashing his prodigious power during batting practice at Scottsdale Stadium. Those results started to carry over into Cactus League action on Monday, as the 25-year-old came off the bench to go 2-for-3 with a double and a triple against the D-backs. Davis, who also played five innings in center field, has been working with the club’s hitting coaches on some mechanical adjustments that he hopes will allow him to get the ball in the air more this year.

“He talked about, in his last game, how he was seeing the ball, but he was just a touch late,” Kapler said. “Today he felt like he was really on time, and he made that adjustment. As a result, he really struck the ball well and saw the ball well.”

The latest on the bullpen competition
The Giants got their first look at several of their bullpen hopefuls on Monday, with Jarlin García, Dany Jimenez, Sam Selman and Conner Menez each coming in to work one clean inning behind Smyly. García and Jimenez are new to the organization, but they could have a leg up over the crowded field of relievers since they can’t be optioned to the Minors. García, who was claimed off waivers from the Marlins, is out of options, while Jimenez is a Rule 5 Draft pick who must be offered back to the Blue Jays if he isn’t kept on the Giants’ 26-man roster for the entire regular season.

Jerry Blevins, Shaun Anderson and Nick Vincent experienced early blips, each giving up home runs in their spring debuts.

A peak at the future
Alexander Canario, a 19-year-old outfielder who is ranked the Giants’ No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was among the Minor Leaguers who were called up to serve as reserves for Monday’s game. Canario replaced Steven Duggar in right field in the sixth inning and finished the day 0-for-1 with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. Signed out of the Dominican Republic for $60,000 in 2015, Canario batted .301 with a .904 OPS and nine home runs over 49 games with Class A Salem-Keizer in 2019.

Up next
Right-hander Kevin Gausman, who signed a one-year, $9 million deal over the offseason, will make his Giants debut against the White Sox on Tuesday at Camelback Ranch at 12:05 p.m. PT. He will be opposed by Chicago right-hander Drew Anderson.