Flying Squirrels' pitcher reflects on futures game

Sitting in Bowie, Maryland, earlier this season preparing for the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ series with the Baysox, pitcher Carson Whisenhunt got a phone call.

The left-hander was heading to the All-Star Futures Game.

“At first it kind of didn’t sink in,” Whisenhunt said. “Like, obviously, ‘Hey you’re going to the Futures Game’ and I was pumped but it like didn’t sink in.”

Well, on July 8, Whisenhunt found himself in Seattle working, playing and learning from baseball’s brightest.

“I think it’s more the experience,” Flying Squirrels’ manager Dennis Pelfrey said. “Being around some of the better players in baseball, being around some of the best in the world, for him to get invited to something like that is special.”

With Richmond, Whisenhunt is 0-1 with 3.20 ERA in six starts. He was promoted to Double A after excelling in Single A with San Jose and Eugene. Overall, he is 1-1 with a 2.17 ERA. He has 97 strikeouts in 661/3 innings.

Whisenhunt was one of 50 players selected for the game and represented the San Francisco Giants’ organization. The pitcher was surrounded with top talent from across all minor league baseball, not just Double-A, and said he learned new tactics and tricks.

“It was an adventure, it was a great time,” said Whisenhunt, who pitched one shutout inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. “I saw some people that I have known for a little bit now, I got meet some new guys, it was a good time.”

Whisenhunt, ranked by Baseball America as the Giants’ sixth-best prospect, said there were several former MLB players and coaches at the game he got to meet and interact with. For him, it was nice to meet other players that understand the minor league system and what the daily grind entails.

“Meeting some of the guys that are going through the same thing I’m going through in the minor leagues,” Whisenhunt said, “we talked pitches, pitch types all these different things. I learned what some guys are doing that helps, what hasn’t helped them. It’s one of those things where you can kind of pick your own brain.”

Whisenhunt added he’s brought back a few tricks from the event but as he eases back into the routine of the Flying Squirrels, he’s still working out some things he’s more familiar with.

After being in Seattle and the Flying Squirrels’ 10-day road trip, he’s happy to be back in Richmond and find his routine again. The Flying Squirrels’ welcomed Portland, Double-A’s best team, to The Diamond starting Tuesday for a six-game series.

“It was a little weird at first,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m used to it now. I’ve gotten my groove. I’m working through things, we’re pass that halfway point of the season so I’m trying to figure some new stuff out.”

Pelfrey was thrilled that Whisenhunt had the opportunity to play in the game.

“He probably doesn’t realize how special it is right now,” Pelfrey said. “He’s probably pretty confident in himself and sees how good he really is and it’s just another day for him but when you go back and look at it, the best of the best are invited to that futures game and it’s really a high honor.”

This weekend against the Sea Dogs, Whisenhunt said for the entire pitching staff, it’s going to come down to throwing strikes. At this point in the season, he added, teams are playing well and it’s going to take the whole staff to grab a couple games from Portland.

But maybe he has a new trick up his sleeve.

“I think that experience is really special for him,” Pelfrey said. “The Eastern League is probably the toughest league in minor league baseball. He’s fit right in here since day one.”