Former SF Giant Harrison slated for first start against former team since Devers trade a year ago
MILWAUKEE - Kyle Harrison's ascendance with the Milwaukee Brewers has been one of the defining storylines of the season's first two months. His 1.57 ERA is the fourth-lowest mark in the majors among all starters with at least 50 innings, and he's positioned himself to earn his first career All-Star selection.
Harrison might be surprising the baseball world at large, but to his former teammates in San Francisco, nothing is shocking about the year he's putting together. And on Tuesday night, the Giants will be tasked with facing Harrison for the first time since the Rafael Devers trade that sent the Bay Area native across the country.
"It's cool to see him doing so well," said Logan Webb. "I feel like I kind of said it when he was traded. I was like, this kid's going to be really good somewhere. I didn't know where. I thought it would be Boston, but he got traded over here. (The Brewers) have a long track record of really building up pitchers. You're kind of seeing it with Kyle. He was already going to be really good, and then get him with a group like this, you can see it paying off."
Giants right-hander Trevor McDonald, who will start opposite Harrison, said, "Going back to Low-A, he was just carving guys in the California League. You knew it was there. … You just could tell that he had it."
Roughly a year ago, the Giants traded Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs III and Jose Bello to the Boston Red Sox for Devers in a shocking blockbuster trade on Father's Day. Harrison was warming up to start against the Dodgers in Los Angeles when he was suddenly called into former manager Bob Melvin's office. Less than an hour before first pitch, Harrison was informed he'd been traded.
Harrison, a De La Salle product who grew up a Giants fan, was headed east.
The left-hander's time with Boston was brief. Harrison made three appearances (two starts) with the Red Sox at the end of the 2025 season before being traded to the Brewers in February. He made Milwaukee's Opening Day roster as part of the rotation. Starting with five innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts in his first start, he's been one of the best pitchers in the game.
"It's nice for him to see these things come to fruition for him," said general manager Zack Minasian. "Sometimes, with certain guys, it's just a matter of time. But happy for him. Hopefully, he doesn't have a good day tomorrow. Then, he can go pitch well."
Harrison, 24, made a couple of key changes that have enabled him to break out in Milwaukee. Along with raising his arm slot and moving to the left side of the rubber, Harrison began throwing a "kick change" that he learned while working out with former teammate Hayden Birdsong.
"I don't think you're named the number one left-handed pitching prospect in baseball for no reason, right?" Webb said. "The talent has always been unbelievable. I think it's kind of finding yourself. For me, it's (lowering my arm slot) and throwing more sinkers. You're kind of starting to see that with Harry.
"There was a little while where he was dropping down too much. Now, he's a little bit higher, learned some new pitch grips, throwing the kick change now, moving on the side of the mound. There's a bunch of different things you can figure out and it clicks and you can all of a sudden just take off. He's competitive enough to keep trying and keep looking for those answers, and he did that and he's coming out on top."
While the Red Sox barely used Harrison before trading him away, San Francisco needed to include someone with Harrison's upside for the Devers trade to materialize. Now, the Giants find themselves in a position where they're lacking starter depth.
In the months following the trade, the Giants dealt right-hander Kai-Wei Teng to the Houston Astros while Birdsong underwent Tommy John surgery that will keep him out for the rest of the season. Teng is experiencing his own breakout season in Houston, posting a 2.57 ERA over 42 innings in a hybrid role.
"I think anytime you're giving up young talent, it's a bit uncomfortable," Minasian said. "In almost all cases, it comes back to what you're getting in return. I don't know if I would necessarily sit here and say we felt like we could afford to give him up as much as it's the price of doing business to get the type of talent that we got back. I don't know if you'll ever hear many people say we have enough pitching to just trade guys away."
Before Monday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Webb spent nearly 30 minutes catching up with Harrison. The two, understandably, don't talk as much since they no longer wear the same uniform, but Webb remains a supporter of his former teammate.
Webb knows the feeling of being an All-Star. In a month, Harrison might, too.
"I miss having him around just as a friend, more than anything else," Webb said. "I've always told him, when he left, I'm always a phone call or text away if he needs anything. He hasn't texted me, so obviously he didn't need anything. But it was cool to see him again. Baseball's a weird game. You kind of get caught up in what you're doing or what your own team is doing and you lose that connection a little bit. Then, you see a guy and it's awesome and it brings you right back."
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