Major-league spotlight on Lincecum tonight

Chris Lincecum talked to his son, Tim Lincecum, by phone on Thursday night, not too long after the Giants had made the increasingly obvious decision to bring the sensational right-hander to the major leagues.

"Are you nervous?" Chris asked.

"Nah, not really," Tim replied. "I'm ready."

It's hard to remember the last time a young pitcher generated as much frenzied anticipation as Lincecum has for his major-league debut tonight at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Check that. It's not hard at all. It was August 2005, when Felix Hernandez arrived on the Mariners' scene as the savior-designate.

If possible, Lincecum, 22, brings with him even more impressive minor-league credentials than King Felix, whose first game in Detroit wasn't even televised back in Seattle. Lincecum's debut against the Phillies' Cole Hamels will be nationally televised on ESPN.

"It's very exciting," said Chris Lincecum, who flew from Seattle to the Bay Area on Saturday and will be in the stands tonight. "Timmy's really good, really confident, very poised. He's a sweet kid. And it's all real."

Since the Giants made him the No. 10 overall pick out of the University of Washington last June (five picks after the Mariners bypassed Lincecum in favor of California's Brandon Morrow), he has been stunningly dominant — as if pro ball was just an extension of the Pac-10 season.

Heck, at times, it seemed like Lincecum was still at Liberty High School in Renton, mowing down overmatched teenagers. Except these overmatched hitters are some of the top prospects in baseball, and Lincecum is making them look silly.

"Our manager, Dan Rohn, has never seen anyone at that age, pitching at this level, take the league by storm like he has," said Doug Greenwald, broadcaster for the Fresno Grizzlies, where Lincecum made five overpowering starts this season.

At Fresno, Lincecum was 4-0 with a 0.29 earned-run average. He held opponents to a .119 average, struck out 46 batters in 31 innings, and walked just 11. As one observer noted, he made Class AAA look like a Whiffle Ball game.

In his last start, against Colorado Springs, Lincecum struck out 14. Against Tucson on April 23, he worked 6-1/3 innings without giving up a hit, leaving the game only because he reached his pitch limit.

Here are Lincecum's cumulative minor-league numbers since the Giants sent him out last year to rookie ball with Salem-Keizer, where he gave a hint of things to come by recording 10 of his first 12 outs via strikeout:

A 6-0 record, 0.99 ERA, 104 strikeouts and 23 walks in 62-2/3 innings, with just 26 hits allowed.

Yeah, the kid is ready. It's unrealistic, of course, to expect him to match that sort of dominance in the major leagues — even if his Giants teammates already slapped the nickname "Franchise" on him in spring training.

But it's easy to imagine him becoming a national sensation if he's anywhere close, because the Lincecum package is uniquely appealing.

First of all, with his baby face, Lincecum looks like he should be heading to the senior prom. But when he steps onto the mound, his slight frame explodes into the most remarkable whirlwind of torque and leverage since — dare we say it? — Sandy Koufax.

The 100 mph fastball and sharp Koufax-style overhand curve is a devastating package at any level. He has added an effective changeup to his repertoire since turning pro.

Many scouts feared (and still fear) that he's heading for a breakdown, but that notion is scoffed at by Chris Lincecum, who taught him his mechanics. And the Lincecums have some powerful arguments, most notably that Tim has never had so much as a sore arm.

"I'm not worried about him getting hurt on the field," said Chris Lincecum. "I'm only worried about him getting hurt off the field."

Dick Tidrow, the Giants' vice president of player personnel, confirmed in a phone interview Friday that San Francisco's minor-league personnel have been instructed not to mess with Lincecum's delivery.

"Absolutely," Tidrow said. "I don't see how you could get any more out of his fastball, or any better curve or changeup by changing his delivery at all. We thought it would be best if we left it alone and just tried to teach him to pitch as quickly as we could."

The Giants' focus since spring training has been getting Lincecum to work corners.

"In college, he could basically just throw it up there," Tidrow said. "His equipment got him through the day. It won't work in the pros. You have to learn to command the baseball, and he bought into it."

Tidrow, like everyone else, can't wait to see what happens tonight.

"If he throws like he did in Triple A, and treats it like a regular game — which is hard to do for a kid who was only in the minors for a few innings — but if he does that, and controls his mind and emotions, I think he'll be fine," Tidrow said.

"Obviously, he's got a big future."

For Lincecum and the Giants, the future is now.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.

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