Newest Giants pitcher Adrian Houser bounced from organization to organization during the 2024 season. He began the year with the New York Mets but was released in July. He made cameos with the Triple-A affiliates of the Cubs and Orioles. Between the majors and minors, Houser owned an ERA over 6.00.
It was under these circumstances that Houser opted to change his offseason routine. It was a change that paved the way for the best season of his career — a season that led to the biggest contract of his career.
“I think the mechanics really helped everything get freed up and everything was moving a lot easier,” said the 33-year-old Houser, who signed a two-year deal with a club option with San Francisco last week. “Things were coming out a lot better. Overall, that’s what it comes down to.”
Over the years, Houser turned down opportunities to train at PitchingWRX, a facility in his home state of Oklahoma. Following his abysmal 2024 season, Houser finally relented.
One area where Houser stood to improve was with his velocity. In 2023, his average fastball velocity dipped from 93.9 mph to 92.5 mph. In ‘24, Houser’s velocity was roughly the same. The pitching coaches at PitchingWRX suggested several mechanical tweaks to Houser during his first bullpen session at the facility.
The change was immediate. At the beginning of the session, Houser’s velocity sat around 92 mph. By the end, Houser was closer to 95 mph.
“They noticed right away at the beginning of the offseason that I wasn’t really getting into my backside very well,” Houser said. “My front leg was kind of low; I wasn’t really raising it up to where it needed to be. Then, also, I got my hands away from my body a little bit to kind of let them work a little bit more freely. As we pieced that together throughout the offseason, we were able to get into a really good spot with everything coming out really good.”
The velocity uptick didn’t immediately translate to production. Houser began the season with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate but was released in May after posting a 5.03 ERA over nine appearances (eight starts). Upon joining the White Sox on a one-year, $1.35 million deal, Houser enjoyed one of the best stretches of his career.
Houser silenced the Mariners in his debut with Chicago, allowing just two hits over six shutout innings. He did the same in his next outing against the Mets, six more shutout frames with six strikeouts. On June 28, Houser tossed seven shutout innings against the Giants with five strikeouts.
Over 11 starts for the White Sox, Houser posted a 2.10 ERA over 68 2/3 innings. During that stretch, he had an average fastball velocity of 94.4 mph, nearly two ticks higher than the previous season.
Here’s a look at Houser’s mechanics in 2024 and ’25. In the first clip, Houser keeps his hands close to his body. In the second, Houser features a more fluid delivery by separating his glove from his body and lifting his leg higher.
Those two months with the White Sox enticed the Rays, who acquired him at the trade deadline. Houser couldn’t replicate what he did in Chicago, owning a 4.79 ERA over 10 starts with the Rays. Still, Houser ended the season with a 3.31 ERA over 125 innings with a career-high 3.3 WAR (per Baseball Reference).
Despite Houser’s poor finish, the Giants believed in Houser’s mechanical changes and rewarded him with the largest contract of his career: a two-year, $22 million deal with a club option for 2028.
“He talked about getting more into his backside and freeing up his arm path,” said general manager Zack Minasian. “It led to a 2-mile-per-hour velocity increase. I think he commanded the ball better, he spun the ball better. He was able to maybe widen his mix of usable pitches. He’s a very athletic pitcher to begin with, and I think when things finally got synced up for him last year, that’s when we really saw him take off.”
One familiar face who Houser will encounter is Willy Adames, who played alongside Houser with the Brewers for three seasons from 2021-23. Houser, a sinkerballer, will benefit from Adames and five-time Gold Glover Matt Chapman on the infield’s left side, as well as two-time Gold Glover Patrick Bailey behind the plate.
“I’m excited to get back with Willy,” Houser said. “He comes ready every day and you know he wants to win. He shares that passion with everybody.”
Houser joins a rotation that currently features Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp, the fifth spot having yet to be determined.
The Giants entered the offseason hoping to add two starters, but it remains to be seen whether the front office fills that vacancy internally or externally. San Francisco has several young in-house options, among them being Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt and Blade Tidwell, but none have an extended track record of success in the majors.
“I don’t know if I would characterize it quite as a need at this point, given the group of younger starters,” Minasian said when asked if the team needed one more starter. “I think there’s seven or eight players; if we can’t develop a couple of those, shame on us. I believe in our development system and our pitching group, but also, there’s something to be said for these pitchers being allowed to go through natural maturation.”
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