Young San Francisco Giants Reliever Beginning To Show Signs of Elite Stuff

The San Francisco Giants are off to an extremely hot start in 2025, and one of their key young bullpen pieces has been part of the reason why.

Sep 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Rodriguez (73) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning at Oracle Park. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants are off to one of the best starts they have had in franchise history, putting together an 18-10 record, which has led them to first place in a strong National League West.

This strong start has been the result of many different players stepping up and displaying improved play compared to previous seasons. While the team has made some key additions, and has had some high level players return from injury, they have also seen steps up from their young players as well.

One of the most notable steps taken has been relief pitcher Randy Rodríguez, who has been spectacular throughout the first part of the 2025 season.

He started off with a solid rookie season in 2024, where he pitched in 35 games, accruing a 4.30 ERA, 1.242 WHIP, 53 strikeouts to 18 walks, and allowed four home runs.

This was a promising showing from a 24-year old rookie, and the strikeout numbers gave fans something to be excited about with him long-term. It seems that 2025 may be a breakout for him though, as through his first 11 appearances, he has a 0.00 ERA, 0.686 WHIP, 16 strikeouts to no walks, and only eight hits allowed.

His stuff has been absolutely outstanding, and looking further into the advanced metrics, it makes sense why. He ranks 99th percentile in xERA, 91st percentile in fastball velocity, 94th percentile in chase percentage, 98th percentile in strikeout percentage, and 99th percentile in walk rate according to Baseball Savant.

He is among the MLB's best in many key categories, and it has been extremely impressive to watch him transition from where he was last year to what he is doing this season.

The most impressive part is that he is only a two-pitch reliever, relying on his four-seam fastball and slider to put opposing batters away. He uses them at a relatively even rate, 53% for the four-seam and 47% for the slider, but they profile as very different pitches.

The fastball has an average velocity of 97.1 MPH, with 10.8 inches of vertical break and 7.0 inches of horizontal break. The slider on the other hand is still rapid at 85.2 MPH, but breaks a whopping 39.0 inches vertically, and a similar 7.0-inch horizontal movement.

While he has previously utilized a sinker and changeup, it seems the team has pushed him towards focusing on his two best pitches, and this has worked in his favor, becoming one of the most impressive relievers in the entire sport this year.