Giants' Pitchers Embrace Cutter Trend

Young Giants pitchers like Carson Whisenhunt, Hayden Birdsong, and Landen Roupp are incorporating the cutter into their repertoires, joining a league-wide movement.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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The San Francisco Giants' young pitchers are embracing the cutter, a pitch that has seen increased usage across MLB in recent years. Prospects like Carson Whisenhunt, Hayden Birdsong, and Landen Roupp are all adding the cutter to their arsenals, following in the footsteps of Giants ace Logan Webb who incorporated the pitch last season. The Giants' new pitching coach staff is advocating for the increased use of the cutter, which can help keep hitters off the young pitchers' other offerings.

Why it matters

The Giants' embrace of the cutter trend reflects a broader shift in pitching strategies across the league. The increased use of the cutter has helped pitchers generate more swing-and-misses, and the Giants are hoping it will similarly benefit their young arms as they look to make an impact at the big-league level.

The details

Giants prospect Carson Whisenhunt said the cutter has "opened up avenues" for him and has been a "big help." Whisenhunt has also seen an uptick in his fastball velocity this offseason, now sitting in the mid-to-high 90s mph. Birdsong and Roupp are also working on their cutters, with the Giants' new pitching coach staff advocating for more usage of the pitch. The cutter trend has been building across MLB, with usage jumping from 5.6% in 2015 to 8% in 2024 before dipping slightly last season.

  • The Giants' young pitchers started incorporating the cutter into their repertoires last season.
  • Cutter usage across MLB has increased from 5.6% in 2015 to 8% in 2024, before dipping slightly in 2025.

The players

Carson Whisenhunt

A top Giants pitching prospect who is coming off a shaky MLB debut in 2025. He has added a cutter to his repertoire this offseason, which he says has "opened up avenues" for him.

Hayden Birdsong

A Giants pitching prospect who is also working on incorporating a cutter into his mix, with the help of the team's new pitching coach staff.

Landen Roupp

Another Giants pitching prospect who introduced a cutter to his repertoire last season, but is now working to refine the pitch with the team's new pitching coaches.

Logan Webb

The Giants' ace who integrated a cutter into his arsenal last season, helping him generate more swing-and-misses.

Christian Wonders

The Giants' assistant pitching coach who has been working with Birdsong and Roupp on their cutter development.

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What they’re saying

“The hope is it'll open up different quadrants of the strikezone, playing up against righties and pushing lefties off the plate. Keep the changeup hidden a little more and not have to get into it as much. Use it even early on and late in counts if I need to with the cutter.”

— Carson Whisenhunt

“Yeah, I threw it last year, too, but it was horrible. We're working on it.”

— Hayden Birdsong

“Trying to get more of a gyro-y.”

— Hayden Birdsong

What’s next

The Giants' young pitchers will continue to refine their cutter usage throughout spring training and into the regular season, as they look to make an impact at the big-league level.

The takeaway

The Giants' embrace of the cutter trend reflects a broader shift in pitching strategies across MLB, as more and more young arms look to incorporate the pitch to keep hitters off-balance and generate more swing-and-misses. The Giants are hoping this new weapon will help their top pitching prospects make a successful transition to the majors.