Can Randy Rodriguez Overtake Camilo Doval As The San Francisco Giants Closer?

Could Randy Rodriguez be the next big arm in the San Francisco Giants' bullpen?

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Randy Rodriguez (73) throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the sixth inning at Oracle Park. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Dear Fantasy Gods,

Why must you punish me for my draft day closer decisions yearly? I tried to land a top-eight closer this year, with Ryan Walker feeling like the value option based on his success in 2024 (10-4 with a 1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 99 strikeouts over 80.0 innings with 22 saves). 

I was even bright enough to roster Camilo Doval for Walker’s handcuff late, even though his stats from last season (4.88 ERA and 1.58 WHIP over 59.0 innings with 78 strikeouts) didn’t add up to his 23 converted saves. Doval still had 92 career saves coming into the year, and his failure last season was command-related (39 walks over 59.0 innings). 

By the end of April 19th, Walker was delivering glowing results (one run, five baserunners, and six strikeouts over eight innings with five successful saves), aligning with his finish to 2024. Meanwhile, Doval vultured two saves in four tries over the same time frame, with reasonable success (3.24 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and five strikeouts over eight innings). He tripped up in three consecutive appearances (six runs–three earned over 2.1 innings while allowing eight baserunners) from April 4th to 7th.

Due to injuries, I wanted to add another closing option (Kirby Yates), and Doval was the only player I thought I could drop. Seven days later, Walker decide turns into a wood tick (a player that sucks the life out of your fantasy team by delivering blow up pitching performances). He gives up four runs in the ninth on three hits and a walk while hitting a batter. 

Over Walker's next seven games (three weeks), he converts two of three saves while allowing five runs and 12 baserunners over 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Doval strings together 8.1 shutout innings over the same span with one hit, two walks, and seven strikeouts, leading to two saves (4/23 and 4/24). 

Lucky for me, Doval wasn’t picked up on the Sunday of Walker’s first blowup. During the following free agent period, I had to protect my investment in the Giants’ bullpen, which meant putting Doval in the must-value category for my bid. I won him $179 to $119, which gave me peace of mind that I had at least one closer in my NFBC main event. 

I also shoved in on Will Vest ($129 to $65) the same waiver period, a player I picked up in my other top leagues for $33 the previous week.

Six weeks later, Doval is closing games for San Francisco, but he hasn’t been sharp over his last 6.2 innings (2.70 ERA) due to allowing six hits and issuing five walks (1.65 WHIP). Over this span, Doval secured four of his five save tries. 

The Giants demoted Walker to a setup role, and he started pitching earlier in games, signaling that San Francisco dropped him behind Randy Rodriguez as their eighth-inning arm. From May 25th to June 8th, Walker gave up three runs and eight hits over 6.2 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts while going 1-for-2 in save situations.

Randy Rodriguez Fantasy Baseball Outlook:

So, I have a closer with rising command issues, and my insurance card doesn’t appear viable to pay off for saves. Rodriguez earned his first major league save on June 4th, putting pressure on me to make a decision on his future value or lose him to another fantasy team this free agent period. 

He hasn’t allowed a run since April 29th, leading to 16.2 shutout innings with nine baserunners and 27 strikeouts. Rodriguez also opened the year with 11.2 scoreless innings with eight hits, no walks, and 16 strikeouts. His fastball (97.4 mph) is elite, and batters struggle to hit his swing-and-miss slider (.150 BAA with 25 strikeouts over 60 at-bats).

Is Randy Rodriguez the best reliever in MLB? pic.twitter.com/4ay9ULjhhN

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 8, 2025

The success of Rodriguez, paired with his improved command (three walks over 29.1 innings), puts him in the upside closer-in-waiting category. In deep formats, finding saves is challenging, but losing a closer can be devastating to your chances of winning.

On this fantasy team, I believe it has the foundation of a top starting rotation, and my offense should improve significantly going forward after the return of key injured players – Ronald Acuna, Josh Lowe, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Therefore, I had no choice but to add Rodriguez this week and overpay ($33 to $3), as he was more important to my team structure. I have $158 left of free agent money to navigate the rest of the season.

In the end, Randy Rodriguez is a must-follow and add for fantasy teams looking for future saves. He’s one bad week by Camilo Doval from stealing the ninth inning gig, while needing to prove his worth finishing games.