What seemed like a foregone conclusion all spring is now official: Logan Webb is your 2022 San Francisco Giants Opening Day starter.
Webb, 25, will make his first Opening Day start on April 8 against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters in Arizona that Webb will take the ball first after his third spring start Monday.
“I’m confident this isn’t the last Opening Day start for Logan Webb,” Kapler said via The Athletic’s Andy Baggarly.
The Rocklin, CA product recorded a 3.03 ERA and an 11-3 record last year. In the second half of the season, he emerged simultaneously as San Francisco’s ace and the organization’s best home grown starter since Madison Bumgarner. Over Webb’s last 16 starts, he didn’t take a loss and posted a 2.71 ERA.
Webb took the mound in three of SF’s last four home games of the season. In Game 162, he shut down the Padres and hit a home run to secure the club’s franchise-record 107th win. Then he started Game 1 and 5 of the NLDS, making the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup look pedestrian both times.
Excluding the postseason, Webb went 6-0 with a 1.96 ERA at Oracle Park last year.
According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Webb will be the youngest Giant pitcher to start Opening Day since Bumgarner in 2014. He’ll join Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Ty Blach as homegrown Opening Day hurlers in the last 25 years.
Webb allowed one run in five innings to begin this spring, but surrendered two home runs to the Brewers on Monday. No spring training performance would change how the Giants view their ace, though.
The rotation has fallen into place behind Webb, with free agent acquisition Carlos Rodón as a clear No. 2 option and Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb following thereafter.
“We have the possibility to be the best rotation in baseball, and I wholeheartedly believe that,” Webb told reporters Monday.
LaMonte Wade Jr. left Monday’s spring training game after the first inning with a left knee injury. He led off the game with a screaming double off Corbin Burnes, but was seen laboring off the field with a trainer after coming around to score.
Initial exams on Wade Jr.’s knee were promising, Kapler told reporters in Arizona, and he’ll be re-evaluated with more information. Kapler had previously said Wade Jr. would start in the outfield on Opening Day if Miami righty Sanday Alcantara starts.