Harrison skipping Triple-A ‘very real possibility,’ coach says originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Is the Giants’ No. 2 prospect Kyle Harrison ready to contribute at the major league level this season? His current coach, Dennis Pelfrey, believes so.
Pelfrey is the coach of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, San Francisco’s Double-A affiliate, and he believes that the 21-year-old left-handed pitcher is ready for the major leagues.
In an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Carlos Ramírez, Harrison’s coach confidently stated that the star prospect could skip Triple-A altogether and make an impact with the Giants at the major league level.
“I think bypassing Triple-A is a very real possibility for him, because I don’t know how much better the hitters are going to be against his stuff in Triple-A and again, I can say the same thing about the big leagues , I think he’s going to compete very well in the big leagues,” Pelfrey said. “I think he can do it right now.
“Selfishly, we’d like him to finish the season here and help us win a championship from a team standpoint. But from an individual standpoint, in my opinion — and this is not of the Giants’ opinion, this is just my opinion — I think he could go tomorrow and start in the big leagues and give Gabe Kapler and his staff a chance to win.”
Harrison has split time between High-A ball and Double-A this season with similar results.
With the Eugene Emeralds, Harrison posted a 1.55 ERA in 29 innings pitched with 59 strikeouts and 10 walks. After being promoted to the Flying Squirrels at the end of May, Harrison then posted a 2.56 ERA in 63 1/3 innings pitched with 94 strikeouts to 30 walks.
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Altogether, Harrison has struck out an eye-popping 153 batters in just 92 1/3 innings pitched, good for a 14.9 strikeout-per-nine clip.
Pitching in the MLB Futures Game during the All-Star break, Harrison’s incredible season has continued.
His coach would love nothing more than to have the lefty around for Richmond’s championship run, but if the Giants do decide to promote him to Triple-A or the major leagues, Pelfrey has all the confidence in the world in his prized lefty’s ability at the next level.
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