Listed at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, southpaw Greg Farone possesses the type of build that can pose problems for hitters, particularly lefthanded ones.
It can seem like the 23-year-old’s pitches are coming from 55 feet instead of 60 feet, six inches.
“It feels like (each pitch) is on top of the hitter, which is always a good thing for me,” Farone said. “It definitely plays a role” in the success he has enjoyed in his first professional season.
The Giants promoted Farone from Low-A San Jose to High-A Eugene in late June. In the California League, Farone had racked up 73 strikeouts and issued 23 walks in 50.2 innings.
Giants farm director Kyle Haines said the organization “really felt like he’d earned the right to take on a new challenge, as at times, he would just completely overwhelm hitters in the California League.”
The Giants drafted Farone out of Alabama in the seventh round last year. He employs a four-pitch repertoire, with a four-seam fastball that sits in the low-to-mid 90s. He also uses a curveball, slider and changeup.
“A lot of hitters start to cheat for the fastball,” Haines said, “and then that’s when the offspeed plays up, and you’ll start to see him get a lot of chase on the slider in particular.”
Both Haines and Farone believe he needs to improve the command of all of his pitches as he progresses through the system.
“That’s going to help him to be able to game-plan against better hitters and go in and out, up and down, and throw the offspeed in good locations,” Haines said.
Farone began his college career with two dominant juco seasons at Herkimer College outside Utica, N.Y. He pitched for Louisville in 2023 and then transferred to Alabama in 2024.
Farone credits much of his success to former Herkimer head coach Jason Rathbun, who now is the head coach at St. Bonaventure, and Crimson Tide pitching coach Jason Jackson.
“They both gave me the confidence to go out there and believe that I can do what it takes, that I have the stuff to compete at higher levels,” Farone said.