By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

Former George County standout Trevor McDonald made. his Major League Baseball debut over the weekend.

McDonald was summoned up to the big league level for the final game of the season for the home-standing San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Sunday, and he made a sparkling debut in the “Big Show” as he hurled three hitless innings of relief ball in a 6-1 loss to St. Louis in the final game of the 2024 campaign for both teams.

“One hardest working kids I’ve ever coached,” veteran George County head coach Brandon Davis said, of McDonald. “The talent was never the issue, all he ever needed was a chance and he got it!”

The call up to the Giants was a sudden one for the former Rebel all-state standout.

With the Giants in need of a fresh arm after experiencing a bullpen game on Saturday in place of the injured Blake Snell, McDonald received the news just as he was about to tune in to the Georgia-Alabama football game on Saturday night.

He had been on standby in Arizona since Triple-A Sacramento’s season ended Sept. 22, but he was planning to fly home to Louisiana and begin his offseason on Sunday morning. He found himself canceling that flight and making a last-minute detour to San Francisco instead, walking into the Giants’ clubhouse a few hours before first pitch.

“Better late than never,” McDonald told a reporter for MLB Pipeline.

McDonald’s parents, Misty and Larry, and his uncle, James, also managed to travel from Lucedale to catch a flight from New Orleans on Sunday morning and got to the city by the Bay in time to see McDonald take the mound in the top of the seventh.

“It was awesome,” McDonald said. “I kind of stepped off the back of the mound and looked around, took it all in for a second. Took a deep breath, tried to get composed and just do the thing.”

McDonald retired nine of the 10 batters he faced, only issuing a two-out walk to Alec Burleson in the top of the ninth. The 23-year-old right-hander, who is rated the number 12 prospect in the Giants organization, punched out Pedro Pagés for his first career strikeout in the eighth and topped out at 93.9 mph with his sinker, which helped him induce seven groundouts.

“You know there were some nerves involved,” San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said. “The first few pitches are the ones that get you a little bit. Once he got a couple of strikes, it was off to the races. He pitched really well. No hits and one walk. He’s got his sinker, and it keeps the ball on the ground. He threw really well. There were a lot of things to like about it.”

The 2019 George County graduate headed straight to the pros after being drafted in the 11th round (326th overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants. He had originally signed to play at South Alabama before finishing his senior season with the Rebels 8-2 with a 1.78 ERA in 12 games, striking out 105 and walking 15 in 51 innings and then deciding to turn pro.

McDonald was one of three pitchers who were added to the 40-man roster over the 2023-24 offseason after recording a 1.33 ERA over 14 appearances (13 starts) across three Minor League levels in 2023. The Giants brought him to big league camp this spring, but he ended up pulling his groin on his final pitch of Spring Training, which forced him to open the season on the injured list. He finally got back on the mound in May and posted a 4.40 ERA over 23 appearances (20 starts) between the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, High-A Eugene, Double-A Richmond and Sacramento in 2024.

“Just kind of went on the world tour this year,” McDonald said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

With his first big league appearance under his belt, McDonald could be poised to take another step forward in 2025 joining a promising group of Giant rookie pitchers that includes Kyle Harrison, Landen Roupp, Mason Black and Hayden Birdsong.