The SF Giants have quietly dipped into the American Association for another arm, purchasing the contract of right-handed pitcher Spencer Bauer from the Sioux Falls Canaries.
Bauer is set for his first taste of affiliated ball after beginning his pro career in independent baseball. He went the college route first, spending four years at Elon University before finishing his final two seasons at the University of Central Florida. His last college season came in 2025, when he struggled to a 7.71 ERA across 11.2 innings, and he went undrafted that year.
From there, Bauer kept pitching in the American Association, and that’s where the Giants found him. He also trained at Tread Athletics during that stretch, a performance program similar to Driveline Baseball, and the work showed up in a big way.
His fastball jumped from 92 MPH in college to as high as 98 MPH with Sioux Falls. That kind of spike helped fuel a strong 2026 season, when he logged a 3.31 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 16 walks in 35.1 innings.
Bauer works from a three-quarters arm slot and pairs his upper 90’s fastball with a low-to-mid 80s breaking ball. The four-seamer is used up in the zone and shows plenty of armside run, while the breaking ball comes with two-plane movement and is thrown lower in the zone to alter hitters’ sightlines.
The Giants have had some success mining independent leagues in recent years. Spencer Bivens is the clearest example, even though he has since moved on to the Kansas City Royals; he owns a 4.00 ERA in parts of three major league seasons. Dayson Croes is another independent-ball find for San Francisco in 2025, though his rise through the system was followed by a more modest 2026 campaign.
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