Randy Rodriguez: The next bullpen phenom.
The 25-year old is currently one of the best relievers in baseball, making the Giants bullpen even stronger than expected.
From One Among Many to One of the Few
Before the 2025 season, Randy Rodriguez was one of many Dominican relievers with a high-90’s fastball and a slider/sinker combination. Why one of many? Because just like many, Rodriguez struggled with command, drastically decreasing the efficiency of his pitches. His career-low walk rate before this season was a 7.8% BB% in his rookie-ball season. Between 2019 and 2023, his walk rate hovered between 14% and 17%. The stuff was there, but the command wasn’t.
This didn’t stop the Giants from calling him up during the 2024 season, and he performed better than most expected: A 4.30 ERA might not look special on the surface, but the underlying metrics were great. Rodriguez ranked above-average in Chase%, Whiff% and K%, limited his BB% to 8.1% and his elite slider returned a 38.9% Whiff%.
So the peripherals were great. Giants fans and fantasy managers knew who he was, but the general public didn’t know much about him.
Until now.
Randy Has Risen
Randy Rodriguez has officially been one of the most valuable relievers in baseball. He leads all qualified relievers with a 0.61 ERA in 29.1 IP and his 1.4 WAR is good for second, right behind Padres closer Robert Suarez (1.6 WAR).
Here are a few ridiculous statistics to indicate just how good he is:
He has given up 15 hits in those 29 innings. 12 singles and a single home run.
Opponents are slugging .200 against him with a BAA of .150
Despite not being a closer, Rodriguez is currently outperforming Emmanuel Clase’s 2024 season by all metrics but saves.
He nearly has triple his 2024 WAR already (0.1 off).
He has walked a total of 3(!) batters.
However, he’s not the same pitcher. Rodriguez has tinkered with his pitch-mix and release point and this has, obviously, resulted in some fantastic results. However, surface results can’t always be taken at face value - relievers are volatile, and they can go from heaven to hell in the space of a season. However, the underlying metrics for Rodriguez are fantastic. He ranks in the 92nd percentile or higher in the following metrics:
1.92 xERA (100th)
.183 xBA (98th)
34.7% Chase% (94th)
33.8% Whiff% (93rd)
41% K% (100th)
2.9% BB% (99th)
Changes? Changeup?
Rodriguez made a few notable changes. To start, he increased his arm angle by 2 degrees, moving it from 37 to 39 degrees. That in itself had a huge impact on the profile of his four-seam fastball - the induced vertical break of his fastball went from 16.6 to 18.4. Such a big increase doesn’t come from the change in arm angle alone, and his fastball went from 0.5” IVB above average to 2.5, making it one of the best fastablls in baseball. Hitters are hitting .150 and slugging .175 against it, and it’s his go-to pitch to get ahead early.
His slider has been revamped too. He added around 1.5 MPH, bringing it from 84 to 86 MPH on average, and changed it’s movement profile completely. His 2024 slider was straighter and had a lot of drop to it. That profile in itself had a lot of success to it, but the change in profile has improved it even more.
The 2025 version is more of a pure slider. The horizontal break has stayed the same, but it has less drop to it and moves more east-west than north-south. This makes it stand out more among pitchers with a similar arm angle. It’s quite intuitive too - crossfire pitchers that throw for a medium-low slot will automatically generate more horizontal movement on their pitches that an over-the-top pitcher like Felix Bautista.
So his slider looks different than most, and batters are still struggling to figure it out, proven by the 38.9% Whiff%, 41% K% and 39.1% PutAway% while keeping batters to a .150 BAA.
Furthermore, he has completely abandoned both his changeup and sinker. A logical decision - both got hit at a .333 and .500 clip respectively, and his fastball-slider combination has been more than enough to absolutely stiffle even the best Major-League batters.
Future closer?
The Giants have one of the deepest bullpens in baseball. Camilo Doval looks to be back to his old self, Jordan Hicks will eventually settle back in, Ryan Walker has been less reliable but will always be an above-average setup man, and then they have Rodriguez. The Giants have also shown that they like Doval as their closer - it didn’t take long before it was clear that Doval was eventually getting his job back.
So there’s no rush. And Rodriguez is 25 years old. There’s no reason to rush him towards stress situations, and I expect him to eventually take over Ryan Walker’s spot in the 8th - something he has done on occassion already this season. He got his first career save on June 4th 2025, and I believe he’s eventually going to be number two behind Doval. if he’s not available, it will be Rodriguez.
But for now, just enjoy the greatness of one of the best relievers in baseball.
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