When the Giants start NL West play against the imposing Padres on Monday, they’ll have a new guy taking the mound in Anthony DeSclafani. But not to worry. He’ll throw everything he has at the potent San Diego lineup.
Per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, the first-year Giants starter will throw the “kitchen sink” at his divison foe when he takes the mound in SoCal.
Here’s a portion of Slusser’s report:
DeSclafani said he’ll have the “kitchen-sink mentality” with his stuff — use everything, and manager Gabe Kapler said, “I think we we have a lot of confidence in his secondary weapons, he has a lot of confidence in his secondary weapons. So I don’t think it gives too much away to share that we may see some of those at a higher rate.”
DeSclafani, 30, had a 7.22 ERA in nine games with the Reds last year, but the previous season he had a 3.89 ERA in 31 starts, with 167 strikeouts in 166 ⅔ innings.
Susan Slusser/San Francisco Chronicle
With DeSclafani’s struggles a season ago, as detailed by Slusser, the Giants spent much of the spring re-tooling their new right-hander’s repertoire, refining his slider and changeup.
He’ll have to deal with superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and a squad projected to condend for the NL West with the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants are depending on DeSclafani to regain his previous form, especially against the Padres.
But that’s how the Giants roll now, with Farhan Zaidi running their baseball operations. He’s a believer in “Moneyball”: a philosophy of recognizing under-valued commodities in the MLB market, made famous by Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics.
DeSclafani fits the bill perfectly. The Giants’ coaching staff will watch intently, as will all Giants observers, to see what DeSclafani’s “kitchen sink” gets Zaidi and and the franchise moving forward.
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