Hayden Birdsong - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 14)

BALLER MOVE: Add in 15+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 4% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: The San Francisco Giants are dipping into their minor league talent pool once again, this time calling up starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong from Triple-A Sacramento.

Birdsong is a former 6th-round pick of the Giants back in 2022 who has been on the fast track to the major leagues. He has only pitched 169 innings in the minor leagues and has made just two starts above Double-A, but the Giants want to see what they have in their 22-year-old, 6-foot-4 right-hander who ranks as San Francisco's No. 2 pitching prospect.

The #6 prospect in the @SFGiants farm system RHP Hayden Birdsong will debut vs CHC tomorrow.

Birdsong offers a pair of plus pitches with a FF at 96 MPH and a huge curveball. The cutter has developed into his most dominant offering, (21% SwStr🤯)#MiLB #SFGiants #MLB pic.twitter.com/xK2x9pjaCs

— Chap Cunningham (@ChapCunningham) June 26, 2024

Birdsong was dominant at Double-A Richmond this year, posting a 2.05 ERA while striking out 61 hitters in 48 innings. He made just two starts at Triple-A Sacramento, posting a 5.00 ERA but continuing his strikeout prowess with 14 Ks across nine innings.

He has the velocity (mid-90s) on his fastball to compete in the big leagues, and the scouting report on him suggests he has a big curveball that is significantly slower, keeping hitters off guard and helping his fastball play up as a result. He can throw a cutter to righties, too, but is still working on a changeup that he can use against left-handed hitters.

In deep leagues, Birdsong is worth an add, as he's flashed some serious potential so far in the minors. However, he is far from polished and still very inexperienced, so expectations should be tempered. He is a wild card at best.

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