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The pitcher who could soon tie the record for tallest player in Major League history had to settle for some smaller competition in 2020.
Sean Hjelle, the 6-foot-11 right-hander ranked as the Giants’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was surprisingly left off San Francisco’s alternate roster during the pandemic-shortened campaign. So he went to his wife’s hometown of Richmond, Va., where the stiffest competition available was a 16-and-under travel team.
“I threw to those guys just to get an actual hitter,” Hjelle said Thursday. “A different, live look.”
The 23-year-old Hjelle, who was taken in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft, is getting better looks now that he’s back in big league camp. And though it’s possible he’ll begin the 21 season right back in Richmond, with the Giants’ Double-A affiliate, it’s also possible that he gets the call to the Majors in a season in which so many arms will be counted on to provide innings.