Giants' Lincecum earning 'Franchise' tag

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Left-hander Steve Kline, the Giants' resident comedian, calls Tim Lincecum "Franchise." Kline's aim is to tease Lincecum, but like most humor, there's a measure of truth in this nickname.

Barry Zito's signed for seven years, and Barry Bonds probably can play for the Giants as long as he wants. But in many ways, Lincecum embodies the Giants' hopes for the future, a future in which they'll thrive with players they drafted and developed, and win with the stingy pitching that complements AT&T Park so well.

Lincecum, 22, gained instant access to the fast track for the Major Leagues when the Giants selected him in the first round (10th overall) of last June's First-Year Player Draft. His progress accelerated when he finished 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA over eight starts in Class A Short-Season and Class A Advanced. With 58 strikeouts and only 14 hits allowed in 31 2/3 innings, Lincecum clearly was ready for a greater challenge.

That has arrived this spring. In Major League camp as a non-roster invitee, Lincecum is 1-0 with a 6.43 ERA in three appearances (one start) and has recorded seven strikeouts in seven innings. But Lincecum's Cactus League statistics pale alongside the impression he has made. Since his first mid-February bullpen throwing session, which drew a crowd of Giants veterans and baseball operations executives, Lincecum has shown observers that if he begins this season at Triple-A Fresno, which is likely, he won't be there long.

"He's going to pitch in the big leagues," Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "There's not many you say that about, flat out. It's a matter of when."

Everything about Lincecum prompts wonder, starting with his youthful appearance. Stick a pair of black-rimmed eyeglasses on him, and he'd finish no worse than second in a Harry Potter look-alike contest. Then there's his slender build, listed at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds. But from the body of a kid comes the pitching of a man.

Lincecum mixes his 95-mph fastball with an assortment of offspeed pitches that includes a curveball, a slider and a changeup. "They're all strikeout pitches, too," Righetti said. "He controls them all very well."

Besides, Righetti added, being and looking young doesn't matter from a distance of 60 feet, 6 inches.

"I was pitching in the World Series when I was 22," said Righetti, a two-time All-Star reliever with the New York Yankees. "I don't hold anybody back. If they're good enough, they can pitch wherever they want."

Lincecum, a native of Bellevue, Wash., sees room for improvement. "I feel if I keep my ball down more consistently, I can be more effective," he said.

Lincecum maintains his effectiveness with a pitching delivery that has prompted criticism. Some observers believe that Lincecum is flirting with an arm injury by wrapping his right arm behind his right leg as he rears back in his windup.

But Lincecum has pointed out that his windup is a sequence of moving parts that sustains balance, creates torque, generates power and actually relieves his body of stress.

"I keep hearing about his unorthodox style," said Chris Lincecum, who nurtured son Tim's pitching mechanics. "You'd think somebody unorthodox wouldn't look that smooth."

Righetti finds nothing unusual in Lincecum, except his excellence.

"The kid has a gauge. All he does is throw strikes," Righetti said. "You can say about anybody, 'If he throws 200 innings, is he gonna blow out?' Well, anybody can blow out at any time. This game's about throwing strikes, attacking hitters and getting them out. If a guy does it a certain way, you might want to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Lincecum answered questions about his poise last Friday against Colorado. After yielding Jeff Baker's two-run homer, Lincecum recovered by easily retiring the next two batters to end the inning.

"You can't let things get to you," Lincecum said. "You have to get over it and move to the next batter."

As for moving to the next level, Lincecum's in perfect position. Though Lincecum has virtually no chance of cracking the season-opening starting rotation, Righetti wants him to start every five days through the rest of the exhibition season, giving him Major League-quality preparation.

Lincecum receives all aspects of his baseball education, whether it's game experience or Righetti's big-league treatment, with equal calm.

"It's always been my dream to play Major League baseball," he said. "If that road takes longer or shorter, that's the way it is."