Giants observations: Roupp impresses in Cactus League opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SURPRISE, Ariz. — For a moment on Saturday morning, it looked like the first spring training game of the Giants season might be delayed by reunions.
Bruce Bochy walked out onto the field and immediately saw Bob Melvin, and while the two chatted, a steady stream of Giants came out of the dugout to see the four-time World Series champion. There was Pat Burrell and Ron Wotus, and then Triple-A manager Dave Brundage and longtime trainer Anthony Reyes. On and on it went, and the crowd got bigger when Texas Rangers hitting coaches Donnie Ecker and Justin Viele walked over. Several coaches and players ran out to hug the two former Giants coaches.
Once the game started, Sam Huff starred against his former Rangers teammates and Nick Ahmed and Joc Pederson took at-bats in blue. It was nothing but handshakes and hugs as the Cactus League season kicked off, with the last set going to the Giants. They won their opener 6-1 and gathered on the mound afterward.
The story early was the automatic ball-strike system and Huff, a candidate to be the backup catcher. After the game, the attention was on Bryce Eldridge, who homered in his Cactus League debut. Here are three more takeaways from all the action in between:
Landen Locks In
A year ago at this time, the Giants had no plans to have Landen Roupp on their Opening Day roster. But the right-hander was so sharp that he left them no choice — and then posted a 3.58 ERA as a rookie.
Roupp primarily was a reliever but showed enough as a fill-in starter late in the season that he will get a shot this spring to compete with Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong and Keaton Winn for the fifth spot in the rotation. On Saturday, he walked one and struck out three in two hitless innings. Roupp was particularly sharp in the second, freezing Pederson with an inside sinker and then getting Adolis Garcia on a big curve.
“Today was a lot better than (my bullpens) have been and I’m glad it was in a game,” Roupp said. “I felt really good today.”
Roupp would have to be pretty dominant this spring to pass both Harrison (who is a week behind because he got sick right before camp) and Birdsong (who will back up Logan Webb on Sunday), but he still looks like someone who will be on the initial roster. There are at least a couple of bullpen spots available, and it’s hard to see how the Giants will have better options than Roupp, who did well in that role as a rookie.
Roupp said he’s excited to compete for a rotation spot this spring, but he also will be happy to end up in the bullpen at the end of March if that’s what the Giants prefer.
“Obviously I want to be a starter, but helping the team out in any way possible is what I want to do,” he said.
Not Waiting Around
Jung Hoo Lee had not seen a pitch in any sort of game since last May 12, so it wasn’t a shock that he swung at the first one. Lee hit a 105-mph single to right in his first at-bat back, and he was immediately tested in his return to center field.
It was a ball to the wall that led to Lee hurting his shoulder last season, so of course the first ball he saw in 2025 was a liner to the track in left-center. Lee showed no hesitation and made a nice running catch.
“That ball was smoked and I knew he had it the entire way,” Roupp said.
Lee said his plan all along was to swing at the first pitch so he could get an early test of his mechanics and hand speed. The Giants are taking a look at him as their No. 3 hitter, but it’s on defense where he might make the greatest impact. With Lee out most of the year, their outfield ranked 28th in the Majors in Outs Above Average last season.
“I almost was like saying slow down, slow down, because I certainly don’t want to see him come up against the wall,” Melvin said. “But he doesn’t have that in him. He was going to go get it. It was a nice play that he made look easy.”
A New Look
Marco Luciano had to wait a bit to get tested in left, but in the third inning he got back-to-back balls. Luciano looked like a longtime outfielder on a high fly ball and then did everything right on a laser off the wall in left-center, taking a good path to the ricochet and getting the ball back in quickly.
“He looked comfortable,” Melvin said. “Left field in these spring training games is the toughest field (because of the sun), especially early on. He made a nice play. He looks like he’s a little more grounded at the plate. Bat speed looks good. He’s going to get more reps out there.”
Luciano was 0-for-3 at the plate but did have a 111.6 mph groundout, the hardest-hit ball by either side. It will be hard for him to win a job at the plate this spring, although the bench competition is a bit murky.
Jerar Encarnacion is a strong bet as a fourth outfielder/DH and Luis Matos has a chance to work his way into a semi-platoon in right field. The Giants also still have Grant McCray, who hit a homer on Saturday but will have a difficult time breaking through this spring unless Lee gets hurt.
The likelihood is that Luciano opens in Triple-A and continues to work on the transition from shortstop to left field. At least on Saturday, he looked like he’s already most of the way there.
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