Mequon, WI – Former Lakeshore Chinook Hayden Birdsong made his MLB debut with the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. Birdsong’s appearance with the Giants makes him the 19th Chinooks alumni to make it to the MLB.
The Gays, Illinois native pitched for Eastern Illinois for his college baseball career. He pitched two seasons for Eastern Illinois, appearing in 34 games, 73 innings pitched, and a 5.77 ERA.
In the summer of 2022, Birdsong headed to Mequon where he joined the Chinooks bullpen and immediately became the anchor of the pen. During the season, he made 6 appearances for Lakeshore in 17 innings of work, ending the season in mid-July with a 2-0 record and a 4.15 ERA. He struck out 31 batters while only walking 7.
In the middle of the 2022 season, Hayden Birdsong was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 6th round, 196th overall. Birdsong would see action in seven games to finish the 2022 minor league season at the Rookie and Single-A level.
In 2023, Hayden pitched over 100 innings in the Giants system. He started the season at low A, was promoted to high A, and ended the 2023 campaign with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Giants double A team.
Birdsong is off to a fast start for 2024. He continued with the Flying Squirrels to kick off the season, appearing and starting in 11 games. He was then promoted to triple-A, the Sacramento River Cats. He started in one game before being called up this week.
He officially made his debut Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs. In his debut start, he went 4.2 innings, giving up 6 hits on 3 runs while striking out 5 batters.
The Chinooks wish Hayden the best of luck as he begins his MLB career with the Giants.
