2025 There R Giants' Top 50: #9 Mason Black

After the dream comes true

Photo Credit: Richmond Flying Squirrels

So far, in this year’s Top 50, we’ve seen:

• Just Missed List

• 46-50 (Camacho, Foster, Flores, Hernandez, Reckley)

• 41-45 (Christian, Pomares, Ahuna, Perez, Sugastey)

• 36-40 (Howell, Murphy, Miles, Simon, Choate)

• 31-35 (Sanchez, Waites, Bresnahan, Rengel, Maldonado)

• 26-30 (Hipwell, Bello, Tejada, Diaz, Bericoto)

• 21-25 (Ortíz, Furman, Cayama, Harris, Ceballos

• 16-20 (Cox, Martin, Meckler, Bostick, Velasquez)

• 11-15 (Arteaga, Crawford, Davidson, Seymour, Ragsdale)

• 10: Trevor McDonald

Last year, when I was putting this list together, there were two pitchers in my top 10 whose order I wrestled with over and over almost up to the very day of publication. One of those two would graduate from this list in 2024, and one wouldn’t — and therein hangs a tale!

There is a very direct correlation between the fact that Mason Black is still on this year’s list and the fact that the younger, less experienced Hayden Birdsong is not.

Black had the pole position among starting pitcher prospects in spring training — had it not been for the late spring signing of Blake Snell, it seemed for much of last March that Black would be breaking camp as a big leaguer. Instead, he went to Sacramento and spent all of April loudly kicking at the door (1.01 ERA in the bat-crazy PCL). As a result, he would be the first prospect called up to try to hold the fort for the starting pitching-starved Giants, making his big league debut on May 6.

It should have been Black who graduated off this list….. But it wasn’t. Instead, his initial opportunity went south rather quickly (8.79 ERA over four starts, while averaging just 3.1 innings per outing), and after he returned to Triple-A, he put up an elevated 11.93 ERA over his next five starts with Sacramento. Thus it was, that when the Giants absolutely, positively had to find another arm to take some starts for a team bleeding starting pitchers, on June 26 they reached down for Black’s younger teammate, Birdsong, who had just arrived in Triple-A 11 days earlier.

The pole position is an advantage….but you still have to run your race when the gates go up. To the expectations of no one, Birdsong would end up throwing twice as many innings with the Giants last year as Black (72 to 36). The story for Black, then, is one that sooooooooo many young prospects are familiar with: how do you regroup and re-gather momentum after finally, FINALLY reaching your heart’s desire, your lifelong pursuit….. and getting punched in the nose while reaching for your Cinderella kiss?