SAN FRANCISCO – Things haven’t gone according to plan for the 2026 Giants, but Thursday provided a glimpse of a bright future that the club hopes to see realized soon.
Carson Whisenhunt, San Francisco’s’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was called up from Triple-A Sacramento and capitalized on his second Major League opportunity this season, pitching into the sixth and holding the Rockies to a pair of runs in the Giants’ 8-2 win. In a corresponding move, Ryan Walker was optioned to Sacramento.
Manager Tony Vitello characterized Whisenhunt’s start as “outstanding,” save for some “rushing a little bit off the stretch.”
Whisenhunt, who logged four strikeouts on three different pitch types but issued four walks, had the same critique.
“Obviously, I’m not trying to walk four, but to go out there … my stuff was really good today," said Whisenhunt. "Felt comfortable. Felt confident. Drew [Cavanaugh], unbelievable behind the plate. Defense did great, but a little rushed. Just trying to do a little too much, I think.”
Rushed or not, he held a potent Rockies lineup at bay. Entering the day, Colorado owned the sixth-most runs scored in the National League (457) and fourth-best OPS (.752).
Across two big league starts this season, Whisenhunt has allowed four earned runs in 10 2/3 innings, with nine hits and six walks. He’s shown enough promise to indicate he could be on the cusp of breaking through as a rotation option for the Giants, though Vitello said the team hasn’t made any decisions on that front just yet.
Bryce Eldridge, meanwhile, flashed the sort of power that made him the organization’s top prospect by launching the Giants’ first Splash Hit of the season – and the first since Rafael Devers last Sept. 24.
Eldridge’s “chicken wing” swing – as it was referred to postgame – was the result of pulling his hands in to reach a 3-1 slider from the Rockies’ Ryan Feltner and send it a Statcast-projected 394 feet into McCovey Cove.
“The kid’s 21, he shouldn't be able to do that,” joked Whisenhunt of Eldridge’s prodigious power. “… Interesting swing, but hey, when you have that much power, it works out in your favor.”
Eldridge, who was demonstrating the swing to teammates in the clubhouse postgame, said he didn’t realize he’d recorded a Splash Hit until infield coach Ron Washington told him in the dugout.
In fact, Eldridge previously thought he had already hit one into the water.
“I thought my first career homer was a Splash too, just because I saw the water that they shoot up [in right field]. So I was like, ‘Oh, I got it in my first career [homer]?’ That would’ve been sick, right?
“I've had a few weird swings like that, where I somehow get them in and get homers out of them. I thank God every day that I have the strength to do that. But [Jonah] Cox was even like, ‘What was that?’”
Casey Schmitt was a factor as well – as he’s often been in 2026. His solo shot in the bottom of the first was his seventh first-inning home run of the season, the most before the Giants’ 95th game in a season since Barry Bonds clubbed eight in 2001. Schmitt also drew his first walk since May 24, ending the longest plate appearance drought between walks by a Giants non-pitcher in at least the last 50 years.
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer raved about Schmitt, who made a Matt Chapman-like ranging play at third base, throwing from foul territory to retire Hunter Goodman in the second.
"It’s tough when you have a big league lineup with Devers behind him, [Willy] Adames behind him, [Luis] Arraez is right there," said Schaeffer. "That’s a good lineup. But Casey Schmitt’s been probably their best player all year. The way he plays defense is incredible too. He’s flashed some leather the past couple of series against us. He’s just a really good player."
All of this was enough to hold off the Rockies and prevent the Giants from falling to 17 games under the .500 mark for the first time since they finished the 2017 season 64-98.
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.