With the start of the regular season nearly here for the San Francisco Giants, there have been few teams better in spring training this year.
After what was somewhat of a lackluster winter, the Giants appear to be raising some eyebrows this spring.
While they did have a couple of notable additions in Willy Adames and Justin Verlander, the franchise also lost some key players from the 2024 squad.
However, cutting payroll and getting a player the caliber of Adames to bolster their lineup was the goal, and that was achieved.
There are still numerous questions about how good San Francisco can be in 2025, but they have some good things to build around.
While the 2024 campaign was a disappointment, it did see the emergence of a couple of players who could be building blocks for the team for years to come.
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Giants closer Ryan Walker as an underrated player who is destined to become a household name.
“With the closer role now well in hand, it will be that much harder for the Giants to keep Walker a secret in 2025. An All-Star nod seems all but certain,” he wrote.
Coming into last season, Walker wasn’t on the radar to be closing games for San Francisco. Camilo Doval was seemingly emerging as one of the best closers in the game, but he unfortunately struggled and lost the spot.
Walker didn’t waste the opportunity that was presented to him, and took the bull by the horns.
In 2024, the right-hander totaled a 10-4 record, 10 saves, a 1.91 ERA, and struck out 99 batters in 80 innings of work.
It was a really impressive second season for the 29-year-old last campaign, and he will be looking to build upon it heading into the new season.
Walker has some excellent stuff and, with the ability to make batters swing and miss at a high rate, is built to be a good closer.
Due to San Francisco seemingly always playing close games with offensive output being suspect at times, there are going to be a lot of save opportunities for the right-hander.
If he can perform like he did as a high leverage relief pitcher in 2024 as a closer this year, he could easily garner some attention for an All-Star nod.
The team will have to put him in a position to succeed, but Walker has all the potential to be a great closer for the franchise moving forward.
With a few years of success under his belt, there is plenty of reason to believe that he won’t just be a flash in the pan.
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