Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE — Kevin Gausman is a fairly laid-back guy, one whom Curt Casali recently referred to as one of the quietest aces he’s been around.
So his brief discussion with Gabe Kapler, upon receiving the news that he would be granted a legitimate Giants honor, wasn’t surprising,
“Our conversation was pretty one-sided,” Gausman said Thursday. “He was like, ‘Hey, we want you to start Opening Day.’ I was like, ‘All right, great, sounds great to me.’”
And that was that. Kevin Gausman is the Giants’ No. 1 starter.
It will be his second Opening Day start, getting the nod with Baltimore in 2017, in which he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings, which is known because of record-keeping and not because of Gausman’s memory.
“I don’t really remember much of it — I was just so fired up and so amped up,” Gausman said over Zoom a day after Kapler made the announcement. “We were playing in Toronto, so we had the two different anthems, which kind of threw another curveball in it, too. I’m looking forward to just one anthem.”
It’s the little things, but also the big things, which Gausman acknowledged that starting Opening Day is. The Giants are paying him like an ace, at $18.9 million with the qualifying offer, and now will start the season looking at him as the ace. Johnny Cueto will follow in the order, and Kapler said they likely will have Cueto throw the home opener.
Gausman has long known he would be starting in the opening series, even if he hadn’t been informed of the order yet. So he’s been catching Mariners games on TV when possible and studying the swings, mentally preparing for a team that will have a DH. He’s pretty glad he won’t have to bat just yet.
“I think it’s a huge honor for Kevin and very well-deserved based on his performance last year and in some of his lights-out outings already this spring,” Kapler said Wednesday. “It’s always a nice conversation for a manager to have, too. So I’m really excited to watch him pitch on Opening Day.”
Gausman is not the only one who should get credit for the honor. It’s also a nod to the pitching minds around the team — Gausman called out director of pitching Brian Bannister — who have taken raw stuff and helped elevated it with pitchers like Gausman and Drew Smyly, with Anthony DeSclafani and Aaron Sanchez their next projects.
The Giants pride themselves on maximizing a pitcher’s potential, which includes playing up their best pitches. It’s an individualized approach, which Gausman appreciates.
“More than anything, they’ve just helped me to be my own guy and not necessarily try to fit in this mold that a lot of pitchers are in right now, which are sinker/slider guys or high spinrate guys or guys who have really good sliders,” said Gausman, who is mixing in an improved slider with a mid-90s fastball and devastating splitter. “I’ve just never been one of those guys, and [I] struggled early in my career trying to be one of those guys. I think it made me get away from doing the things that I do well.”
The Giants will not have to wait long to see the things he does well in action.