Big rookie could play big role in San Francisco Giants 2022 pitching plans

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Measuring 6 feet, 11 inches tall, San Francisco Giants pitching prospect Sean Hjelle is a big man who could play a big role for the San Francisco rotation in 2022.

During Major League Baseball’s GM meetings on Wednesday, Farhan Zaidi, the Giants’ president of baseball operations, discussed how San Francisco’s rotation could shake out in 2022, half-joking that, as of the moment, it’s Logan Webb and four spots that need to be filled.

Those four vacant positions were taken last season by Johnny Cueto, Anthony DeScalfini, Kevin Gausman, and Alex Wood, as the Giants won the National League West and posted a MLB-best 107 wins. Those four pitchers, however, are now free agents as San Francisco will spend the offseason figuring out how to try to replace them, likely using internal candidates and free agents to fill the void.

“We’re going to focus on pitchers who we think have a genuine interest in coming to San Francisco and being part of our team,” Zaidi said. “We’re getting really good feedback on that. We have multiple rotation spots to fill, so we’re not going to be afraid to strike early.”

While the Giants have been said to be one of the possible landing spots for Max Scherzer, there is an intriguing internal possibility mentioned by Zaidi on Wednesday for who will be given a chance to fill one of San Francisco’s empty rotation spots.

How San Francisco Giants prospect Sean Hjelle could play a big role in the rotation in 2022

A second-round pick of the Giants in the 2018 draft, the right-hander made 24 starts between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento last season, posting a 4.31 ERA in 119 innings pitched. Ranked 13th on MLB.com’s list of San Francisco prospects, Zaidi said Hjelle (pronounced like jelly) could get a chance to pitch for the Giants in 2022.

“We’ve got some young guys like Sean Hjelle who could come in. Things evolve over the course of the offseason and even spring training,” Zaidi said. “We sort of view it less as a five-man rotation and more as a 162-start staff, so it’s really not a question of whether he’s going to be in the Opening Day rotation, but more whether he’s going to make starts for us next year. Given he’s already been in Triple-A, there’s really a good chance of that.”

Hjelle is not a flamethrower on the mound, striking out 265 in 284.0 minor league innings. However, the former Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year from the University of Kentucky has plenty of other attributes that are helping him succeed.

"“Hjelle has exceptional body control for his size, which allows him to provide consistent strikes and pound the bottom of the zone,” reads his scouting profile on MLB.com. “He sequences his pitches well, adding to his ability to keep hitters off balance. He should help the Giants in the near future and comes with a high floor as a good bet to become a No. 4 starter.”"

Given San Francisco’s pitching outlook for 2022, that near future could well be next year for Hjelle.