Whisenhunt (Giants' No. 11 prospect) recalled to face Rockies; Walker optioned

SAN FRANCISCO – When Carson Whisenhunt was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento following a strong outing on June 17 in Atlanta, it seemed logical to imagine the left-hander would wind up back in the Majors soon.

And sure enough, the Giants’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline is back in the Bay, having been called up from Sacramento to start Thursday night’s series opener with the Rockies.

In a corresponding move, reliever Ryan Walker was optioned to Sacramento.

Whisenhunt, 25, earned Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Month honors in May. Overall, he logged a 4.42 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) for the River Cats, with 82 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings.

Manager Tony Vitello credited Whisenhunt’s “fun and good simplicity to him” on the mound as an option against the Rockies, who entered Thursday with the sixth-most runs scored in the National League (457) and fourth-best OPS (.752).

Vitello stopped short of confirming Whisenhunt would stay in the rotation in the near future -- the looming All-Star break tends to afford more options to clubs, after all -- but the skipper did suggest Whisenhunt provides something fresh on the mound.

“I think his future is here,” said Vitello. “I mentioned it maybe yesterday or at some point, I really like the fact he kind of adds a different look, even if you compare him to fellow lefty Robbie [Ray]. It's definitely a different look for the other team.”

As for Walker, 2026 has been a significant struggle. Two years removed from a sterling 1.91 ERA in 76 outings out of the bullpen, Walker has been unable to recapture that consistency in 95 games since.

He’d been scored upon in each of his four July appearances, to the tune of nine runs in 4 2/3 innings, including three in the Giants’ 10-0 loss to the Blue Jays one day prior to his demotion.

This is the second time Walker has been optioned to Sacramento this season.

So what was Vitello’s message to the right-hander this time?

“Mainly just to keep working,” Vitello said. “I think the first go-around was something more he welcomed, and it felt like he needed this time around. … You know, obviously confidence is something we've talked about a lot, whether it relates to our team or other situations. That's the biggest thing. … You see a bunch of guys multiple times in a row, and especially when you get older, there's not a whole lot that can change with either your stuff or your repertoire, your swing is kind of your swing, but you can make adjustments.”