When the San Francisco Giants brought in franchise legend Buster Posey to replace former President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, it marked a massive change in organizational philosophy.
While Zaidi leaned heavily into the analytics side of baseball, Posey is a more traditional, players-first leader. Both approaches have their merit when it comes to trying to win baseball games. But the Giants hoped that the switch to Posey would help them build a more sustainable contender.
How the 2025 season turns out remains to be seen — the Giants are firmly in the playoff race as of July — but the players are already raving about working with Posey.
Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp — who has consistently been the third best starter for the Giants this season — said Posey is a huge reason he’s broken out in an interview on Tuesday July 8, 2025.
“My first couple starts, I guarantee you, if this was last year I would’ve been sent down,” Roupp said on 95.7 The Game (h/t @Coach_Yac). “Thanks to Buster for believing in me and letting me work through some things.”
It gives all the younger guys confidence knowing that if they have one bad game, they’re not going to be sent down right away.”
Roupp Is A Breakout Star for the Giants
Landen Roupp has never been seen as a future MLB star.
He was drafted by the Giants in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of UNC Wilmington.
Even while he was tearing up the Giants’ minor league system, Roupp was constantly overshadowed by the names of bigger pitching prospects like Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, Tristan Beck and Mason Black.
But Roupp has developed into the best pitcher of all of them.
He doesn’t have enough innings to qualify to be among the league leaders. But if he did, his 3.39 mark would be 28th best in baseball.
Even that Stellar ERA doesn’t tell the whole story. In 18 starts, Roupp has surrendered 2 earned runs or fewer 12 times. Essentially, 2 out of every 3 starts for Roupp, he turns in a fantastic result.
Basically, Roupp would be the ace on some other teams’ staffs today. He’s the third best on the Giants only because Logan Webb and Robbie Ray have been so excellent.
Who is the Next Pitching Development Success for the Giants?
With Posey building trust with the Giants pitching staff, the hope is that more pitchers will develop into stars like Roupp.
But who might be the next rotation fixture for the Giants?
The obvious choice would be Carson Wisenhunt. The Giants’ No. 2 prospect could be called up as soon as this season. Especially if the Giants are in the playoff hunt.
Trevor McDonald is another name for Giants fans to keep their eyes on. The right hander actually made one start for the Giants late last season, and he has a 3.51 career ERA in the minor leagues.
The most intriguing result would be if Reggie Crawford developed into a full time starter. Crawford was the Giants’ first round pick in 2022, and was a two-way player at the time. He has electric stuff but has been devastatingly injury prone throughout his MiLB career. So, he’d need to stay healthy to make a star turn.
What do you think, Giants fans? Who is the next Landen Roupp in the Giants’ system?
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