Giants closer Ryan Walker has a fan in Mike Krukow.
But the longtime Giants broadcaster and former San Francisco pitcher believes Walker can get even better in 2025 on the heels of a stellar campaign last season.
"Closer. Filthy. Filthy, dirty closer, who can learn and get better," Krukow told Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher on KNBR's "Murph & Markus." "He uses two pitches. Two grips, that's it. Go get 'em. He two-seams the ball, he doesn't four-seam the ball. And then he's got that slider from Hell, that's it. Go get 'em. So I think there's things he can do ... when you're getting people out and abusing them and making them look bad and you got what, over 11 strikeouts per nine innings or whatever his average is.
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"You don't want to mess with a guy too much, but yet the more you pitch, the more your opponent becomes familiar. Now he's got a lot of deception, he's hard to pick up, big crossover step. He's unique, but I do think he can get better by showing more grips, more stuff. Coming up with a split-finger. These are all things that I think will be easy for him to learn, but he's just dirty. He's filthy dirty."
Walker was exceptional during the 2024 MLB season with his two-grip repertoire, posting a 1.91 ERA across 80 innings of work in 76 appearances. That included finishing the year as San Francisco's closer after Camilo Doval was optioned to Triple-A in August.
Walker's devastating breaking ball and collected composure in clutch moments have made him a trusted closing option for manager Bob Melvin, but could his ceiling be even greater than the exceptional performance he posted last season?
Krukow certainly believes so.
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