San Francisco Giants: Clayton Blackburn Won’t Be Gone For Long

The San Francisco Giants have sent pitcher Clayton Blackburn to minor league camp, but he shouldn’t be gone for long.

On Sunday, the San Francisco Giants continued to whittle down their roster in advance of opening day, sending out some players who won’t make the opening day roster so they can receive more regular time in minor league camp and prepare for the beginning of the minor league seasons. None of the cuts were very surprising, but one cut player, Clayton Blackburn, shouldn’t be away from the big league club for much longer.

With new Giants’ starter Johnny Cueto pitching in a minor league camp game, the Giants called upon Blackburn to make the start in his place on Sunday. The 23-year-old righty pitched four innings, giving up three runs (two earned) with three strikeouts, and even picked up an RBI double at the plate, but was optioned to minor league camp after his day ended.

Blackburn had a good Spring for the Giants, and manager Bruce Bochy told the young pitcher as much when he broke the news of his optioning, but Blackburn probably isn’t done wearing a big league jersey this season. After a fantastic campaign in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League last season, Blackburn furthered his cause to be a Major League pitcher very soon with a strong showing in the Cactus League this year.

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Spring Training wasn’t so kind to Blackburn last year, as his time in big league camp was first cut short by a balky shoulder, and then the beginning of his minor league season was pushed back as he dealt with the death of his eldest brother, Hank. After taking time for himself, Blackburn returned to the mound and pitched the best season of his career, winning the PCL ERA title with a 2.85 mark and putting his name among the organization’s top arms.

Now with a spot on the 40-man roster, Blackburn continued his case to make his mark as a big league pitcher in Spring, but his odds were extremely long from the beginning. With the Giants’ rotation set at five guys, and a long reliever (Chris Heston) already in the bullpen, a lot of outside factors would had to have gone in Blackburn’s favor to crack the 25-man squad on opening day. That didn’t stop him from impressing during camp and gaining points with Bochy and his staff.

Blackburn will likely be the starting pitcher when the Giants’ Triple-A team, the Sacramento River Cats, open their season on April 7th, but with the uncertainties surrounding the big league pitching staff he may not be destined to spend many more days as a minor leaguer.

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Matt Cain, the recipient of three surgeries and the owner of two disabled list stints in the past two years, is the biggest question mark in the Giants’ rotation. His most recent surgery was a relatively minor one, the removal of a cyst from his pitching arm, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. The beginning of his exhibition season was pushed back, and although he threw 51 pitches in his Cactus League debut on Friday, his status for the beginning of the season is still in question.

If Cain were to start his second consecutive season on the disabled list, Heston likely jumps into his spot in the rotation. With the long reliever spot open because of Heston’s promotion, the job probably goes to Blackburn, who spent parts of 2015 as a reliever when Cain and Jake Peavy were rehabbing in Triple-A.

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Even if that doesn’t become the case, Blackburn’s still not far away from a call-up. If any starting spot opens up over the course of the year, Blackburn should be the first in line to make the move up in the organization. His makeup as a pitcher and past performances give him the appearance of a guy who can help a big league club, and do it very soon.