Monster movies are amazing. No one can deny that. The reason why Godzilla vs (insert movie monster here) has been able to stand the test of time is because everyone loves a good monster movie. The SF Giants rotation could have a strong quartet.

Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, and Keaton Winn have all got off to a hot start giving the Giants the best rotation they have had since their early World Series Championships. Webb is a bonafide ace, Hicks always had the stuff that just needed control, and Harrison had the prospect pedigree. Winn stands out as the biggest surprise of the group and his emergence could create a strong matchup ahead of Sunday’s game.

Winn’s solid start is exciting. He has a 3.54 ERA across five starts with a 3.96 FIP and 3.46 xFIP. The talent looks very real and outside of a first-inning grand slam that was preceded by weak hits he would have allowed fewer than three earned runs in every start.

The righty pitcher has never reached the top-100 prospect list and has never been in the single digits on the team prospect list. However, he has out-pitched the Giants’ top pitching prospect in Harrison. The plan was for Winn to pitch until Alex Cobb and/or Robbie Ray returns but he has begun to make the case that he should not be the one to go when those two come knocking.

On the other side, Jared Jones is much closer to Harrison than Winn. Jones is only 22 years old, to Winn’s 26 and he was ranked as the third-best Pirates prospect and No. 62 according to MLB.Com before the start of this season. Across five starts and 29 innings pitched, he has a 2.76 ERA, 3.21 FIP, and 2.21 xFIP. He has 39 strikeouts in those 29 innings and has some viral moments (see below) making MLB hitters look like little leaguers.

The matchup between these two is the monster movie battle that we used to get regularly as recently as a few years ago. Clayton Kershaw vs Tim Lincecum, Kershaw vs Madison Bumgarner, or Kershaw vs Matt Cain, just a lot of Kershaw vs top Giants pitchers.

The best part about these matchups is we got a lot of them from a young age. While Webb represents the true Godzilla of this rotation, the buck stopped with him in the past. Once Webb’s day was done the Giants were more likely to use an opener than a six-plus inning starter. Under Bob Melvin, that strategy has changed and it has given players like Winn a chance to set up the beautiful pitchers’ duel we are set up for on Sunday.

Tune in on Sunday to watch some beautiful baseball of the future and the past.