What could Hayden Birdsong do for Giants if he regains his command? ‘His stuff is  incredible'

Nothing was more inexplicable last season for the San Francisco Giants than Hayden Birdsong's sudden hiccup with command of his pitches that started abruptly in June.

Birdsong was so good working two- and three-inning stints out of the bullpen early on that he wound up in the rotation in late May. He won two of his first three starts, and allowed just 10 runs in 25 innings with 26 strikeouts across his first five. He threw his first six-inning start in the last of those five turns.

But then, over his next five starts, he posted a 10.38 ERA, giving up 22 runs. He did that while walking 18 men in just 17 ⅓ innings, compared to 19 over his first 48 ⅓ innings. He was optioned out to Triple-A Sacramento on July 22 and his command issues persisted; he was 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA and walked 30 in 39 innings. He didn't pitch for the Giants again.

What happened?

"I was almost side-bending too much," Birdsong demonstrated Saturday at the Giants' FanFest in San Ramon by listing to his left. "I don't know what you'd call it in real terminology, but I think I was over-bending, which caused my arm slot to rise and then everything just didn't move the same.

"I'm trying to stay more upright, not reach so much overhead, be more athletic when I throw."

Birdsong was also using a full windup with the bases empty last year, the first time he'd thrown out of a windup since college.

"I haven't thrown out of the windup yet this offseason," Birdsong said. "I might just go back to the stretch unless we find something more comfortable."

Birdsong has been in Arizona since Nov. 15. Usually he's still in the snow in Illinois this time of year, so now he's able to throw outside "and I could throw in cleats for the first time in an offseason," he said.

The new coaching staff has suggested some of his mechanical adjustments, "just how I move, nothing that's going to really look different to the naked eye, but to me it's quite a bit different," he said. "It's been working. I've got to get a hitter in the box and see what happens."

Unprompted, when asked about the Giants' rotation, staff ace Logan Webb offered, "Birdsong, I'm super excited about." New manager Tony Vitello has singled Birdsong out for mention, too. 

If he gets back to his early-season form of last year, Birdsong could wind up right back in the rotation if there is an opening. Currently, it's Webb, Robbie Ray, Landen Roupp, Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser, with other youngsters such as Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour and Trevor McDonald in the mix if there is the need for another starter. Birdsong's experience in the bullpen could help him break with the team again, at the very least – if his command is fully restored.

"His stuff is  incredible," Webb said. "I was talking to Tony about it: The potential for that kid is pretty sky high, probably some of the best potential in all of baseball. … It's cool to see him progress throughout the offseason and try to make changes."

This article originally published at What could Hayden Birdsong do for Giants if he regains his command? ‘His stuff is  incredible'.