SAN FRANCISCO -- It has been three years and more than 140 big league appearances since Camilo Doval first stepped on a mound at Oracle Park, but Andrew Bailey hasn't forgotten that first impression. The first time the Giants pitching coach can remember seeing his closer was in summer camp in 2020, when Doval toed the rubber in a live batting practice session and drilled Joey Bart right between the shoulder blades with his first pitch.
Doval was raw, and in many ways still is, but the Giants knew what they had. A few days later, Bailey took Doval to the bullpen and challenged him to throw first-pitch strikes on 16 of 20 pitches. Bailey promised the then-23-year-old that he would take him to the Nike store in Union Square if he succeeded, and as coaches moved a dummy around to simulate different types of hitters, Doval started off 15-for-17.
"Then he drills 16 of 18, and the cherry on top was he hit the next two," Bailey said recently, smiling. "So the next morning, I took him to Niketown and we bought him shoes and a jacket."
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It was an early indication that Doval had a sense for the moment, and that hasn't changed. Tonight, he'll line up with the National League All-Stars for the first time, the result of an MLB-leading 26 saves. A little more than a year after that summer camp audition, Doval was closing out playoff games, and through two-plus seasons in the big leagues, he has posted a 2.65 ERA and saved 56 games.
What's so exciting for the Giants, though, is that at times, Doval still seems to be scratching the surface of what he's capable of.
Doval is 26 now, but he's still learning how to best use his electric arsenal, and he's still tweaking it. At this time a year ago, he took a new sinker from the bullpen to the ninth inning, hoping to add a better weapon against right-handed hitters. The new pitch ended up being more effective the rest of the way than his usual fastball, which is held with a four-seam grip but comes out of his hand as a 100-mph cutter.
"I was playing with it during my bullpen sessions, and I kept telling myself I had to introduce it into a game because it was feeling really good," he said last year. "When the second half started, that's when I was like, 'I'm going to start using it more.' "
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This season, the numbers have flipped on the two pitches, but Doval has benefited from a more balanced repertoire. He throws his slider 39 percent of the time, and hitters are batting just .113 off the pitch. There are nights when his cutter is more useful and nights when it's the sinker, with both pitches being used right around 30 percent of the time overall.
Doval now has the ability to get through the ninth in a variety of ways, but the end result is usually the same. His 2.82 FIP is the lowest of his career, and his 12.5 strikeouts-per-nine is his highest. Among MLB pitchers, he ranks above the 90th percentile in whiff percentage, barrel percentage, expected batting average and slugging. He is, of course, still in the 99th percentile in velocity.
"He's been electric since we've seen him, but we've seen him really with three different arsenals," Bailey said. "It was a sweepy slider to begin with, with a cutter. Obviously last season he adds the two-seam and it's kind of a different profile, with more of a gyro slider. Now you kind of see a vertier cutter, a slider and a sinker, with a true four-seamer. It's kind of morphing."
Early on for Doval, that could lead to some confusion. He was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the previous regime, and when a new front office was brought in, one key hire was told he had to go see the flame-throwing prospect who was about to throw on a back field. He came away unimpressed, noting that the pitcher was sitting 89-91 mph. Coaches later discovered that Doval simply had been holding his fastball with the wrong grip, causing a temporary dip in velocity.
A year later, Doval showed up at summer camp having never thrown a pitch above A-ball. Bailey remembers a bullpen session when the vertical break on his cutter was ranging from four to 17 inches from pitch to pitch. He unknowingly was changing his grip every time he grabbed the ball.
"It's been very raw from an early age, and he's adapted well," Bailey said. "He's still learning."
That process still leads to some thrilling moments for a staff that's all about growth. When Patrick Bailey threw Starling Marte out in New York earlier this month, the bench was delighted to see how quickly Doval delivered the pitch, knowing that Marte would be running.
It's those little things that stand out to Gabe Kapler when asked about what's next for his closer. There never has been any doubt about the quality of his stuff, but the Giants want Doval to continue to master the other parts of pitching the ninth. Kapler pointed to continued command of his pitches, along with controlling the running game "and knowing all the bunt players, backward and forward."
"It's about competing with the baserunners while he's competing with the hitters at the plate," he said.
The Giants believe there's more in the tank, but this version of Doval is already elite. There was little doubt he would represent the Giants in the MLB All-Star Game, and this week he has found himself in Seattle with the rest of the game's best closers, as well as countrymen like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Juan Soto.
Doval grew up idolizing players like Johnny Cueto and David Ortiz, and he now has reached that stage. It's the natural next step for a pitcher who had a lot to learn when he arrived in the United States years ago, but always felt he belonged in the game's biggest moments.
"When I arrived here, I felt like I was in a dream," he said. "I was always focused and didn't find anything difficult. I know I have a good arm, so there's no reason for me to fear anyone. I just focus on throwing to the catcher. When you put the work in, the results come on their own. So I always just focus on that."