Kyle Harrison

Harrison walked three or more batters in 11 of his 20 starts at Triple-A, where automated balls and strikes may have increased walk rates relative to when humans are calling the game. He walked at least one batter but no more than two batters in all seven of his big-league starts, which lends credence to the theory that he may have less of a control issue when the human element is involved. Harrison always missed bats at an elite clip in the minors, with strikeout rates north of 35 percent at every stop. However his propensity to walk batters has held him back at times. The gap between his walk rate at Triple-A (16.3 percent) and the big leagues (7.5 percent) is essentially the difference between a pitcher destined for relief and a pitcher who comfortably projects as a starter. The 6-foot-2 southpaw was the third-youngest pitcher to make five-plus starts in the majors (only Eury Perez and AJ Smith-Shawver were younger), so it's fair to expect further skill development in the coming years for Harrison, who won't turn 23 until August. He is a flyball pitcher (26.8 GB% in the big leagues), but he has a good home park for that approach, as Oracle Park has the third-lowest home run park factor, per Baseball Savant's 3-year rolling average. He should make the rotation out of spring training, but a hamstring injury limited him to 102.1 innings, so the Giants may cap him at around 150 innings in the regular season. Read Past Outlooks