Squirrels' Ryan Halstead, a control freak, found way to mound late

Ryan Halstead was a 6-foot-5, left-handed-hitting first baseman at his California high school. As a junior and senior, he pitched a combined total of 16 innings.

Seven years after his graduation from Los Osos High, Halstead is a Richmond Flying Squirrels reliever who the San Francisco Giants are closely monitoring. His stats demand the attention.

Halstead, 25, got a promotion from Class A San Jose to Double-A Richmond on June 1 after striking out 121 and walking 15 in 105ß professional innings.

“I like to get ahead of hitters more than anything,” said Halstead, a right-hander who has mostly been used for one- or two-inning outings.

Unlike all other professional pitchers who grew up on the mound, Halstead didn’t consider himself a pitcher until he reached Indiana University. A coach Halstead knew in California was friends with Indiana’s coach, which explains the unusual college baseball choice for a California resident.

Halstead immediately became the Hoosiers’ closer, set the IU record for career saves (33), and has continued to succeed as a control freak in the Giants organization.

“I just kind of trust my stuff, and trust what a bunch of other people who have done a lot better than me have been able to teach me,” said Halstead, who San Francisco picked in the 21st round of the 2015 draft.

In 24ß innings at San Jose this season, Halstead struck out 27 and walked two. In 4ß innings for Richmond, Halstead has struck out three and walked two.

“He loves challenging people. That’s what he does. He attacks people,” said Richmond manager Kyle Haines. “He wants the ball in big situations. When you draw up a relief pitcher, you draw him pretty close to what (Halstead) is. He’s tall. He’s got long arms and long legs. He’s got good stuff and he’s a great competitor.”

Halstead’s younger sister, Paige, was a sophomore catcher on the UCLA softball team that advanced to the 2017 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. Paige Halstead wasn’t the only Bruin with a San Francisco Giants’ connection.

Jenna Crawford, a freshman utility player for the Bruins, is the sister of Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, a Flying Squirrel in 2010 and now the Giants’ shortstop.

The Squirrels’ bullpen improved with the acquisitions in the last few weeks of Halstead, lefty Jarret Martin (27, from the Atlantic League), Yordy Cabrera (26, from San Jose) and Colin Balester (31), a former major leaguer signed as a free agent.

The offense picked up after the Giants on June 3 signed first baseman Jerry Sands (29), who has played parts of five seasons in the big leagues. The arrival of Sands allowed Haines to reconfigure his lineup and since then, Richmond has been a more reliable scoring team.

The Squirrels head into Tuesday’s start of a three-game homestand against New Hampshire (Toronto Blue Jays) having won eight of 12 June games.