SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Giants knew they were never going to see the best version of Robbie Ray last year. Not after he underwent Tommy John surgery and went 15 months between major-league starts. This spring, by contrast, the Giants can allow themselves to get excited at the prospect of a fully healthy Robbie Ray.
Especially when he’s throwing gas and confounding hitters with his new pitch.
“It’s not hard at all to get excited,” manager Bob Melvin said with a smile after the Giants beat the Angels, 9-5.
Ray’s second Cactus League start was an encapsulation of the 33-year-old veteran at his best. He touched 96 mph with his fastball. He generated whiffs with his changeup, a pitch he learned from last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal. He filled up the zone, landing 29 strikes on 36 pitches.
The left-hander said that Sunday’s start was the best he’s felt since going under the knife. The results — three innings, zero runs, zero walks, five strikeouts — back up that assessment.
“I have a better understanding of where the ball is going now,” said Ray, who had a 4.70 ERA over seven starts last season in his return from Tommy John surgery. “Whereas last year, I was still trying to find my arm slot, still trying to figure out how my body was moving. My arm felt great last year. It was just a matter of trying to get things to kind of click.”
When Ray won the 2021 AL Cy Young Award, his repertoire didn’t feature a changeup, a pitch he used heavily as a rookie but subsequently abandoned. With a newly developed changeup in tow, Ray has developed another avenue to attack right-handed hitters. The Angels’ Jorge Soler, a former Giant, learned the legitimacy of Ray’s changeup first-hand.
Understanding Soler’s proficiency against fastballs, Ray started Soler off with a changeup to give Soler a different look. Soler badly whiffed through the pitch; Ray stuck with what worked. Ray threw two more changeups, and Soler missed on both.
“An outing like that is kind of what he looked like before (the surgery) as far as the velo and the vert,” Melvin said. “Now, there’s an extra pitch on top of it.”
Since the changeup is still in the research and development phase, Ray is trying to figure out the best counts to throw the pitch. Ray has consulted with other Giants pitchers who throw changeups, namely Logan Webb, and plans to lean on his catchers more than accustomed. He also credited pitching coach J.P. Martinez for suggesting that Ray throw the changeup with a lighter grip, which has resulted in more consistency and a better movement profile.
Between Ray, Webb and Justin Verlander, who’s experimenting in his own right, there’s clear upside at the top of the Giants’ rotation. Ray (‘21) and Verlander (‘11, ‘19, ‘22) are Cy Young Award winners; Webb was a runner-up in ‘23 and has received votes in three straight years.
“If we all pitch we know how to, pitch the way we’re supposed to, it’s going to be a really fun year,” Ray said.
Encarnacion makes case for starting DH role
Jerar Encarnacion, who is out of minor-league options, will likely make the Giants’ Opening Day roster. Whether Encarnacion can snatch the starting designated hitter role is another question entirely.
With afternoons like today’s, he’s certainly making his case.
Encarnacion continued his hot spring, legging out an infield single, smashing a 112-mph double and driving in five runs. The 27-year-old’s 10 RBIs not only lead all Cactus League hitters, but are tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Matt Gorski for the most in all of spring training.
“It’s no secret that that guy mashes baseballs,” Ray said. “If we can keep him hot, keep him doing that, he’s going to be a very big part of our lineup.”
Encarnacion’s five-RBI day comes an afternoon after he hit a 387-foot, 113-mph solo homer to center field against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Encarnacion has hit safely in each of his six Cactus League games this spring, going 8-for-18 (.444) with a team-leading 1.277 OPS.
Worth noting
- Along with left-handed reliever Erik Miller, infielder Brett Wisely is also dealing with an illness. Left-hander Kyle Harrison dealt with an illness earlier in spring.
- Keaton Winn appeared in his first Cactus League game, tossing a scoreless inning with one walk and one strikeout.