Former SF Giants All-Star reliever finding mentor in guest instructor

The SF Giants brought in playoff hero Yusmeiro Petit as a guest instructor in camp. He has been working closely with a Camilo Doval in an effort to get the hard-throwing reliever back to his All-Star form.

Former SF Giants All-Star reliever finding mentor in guest instructor

There is a pretty stark contrast in how Petit and Doval pitch. Petit served as a swingman for the Giants for several years and did a really nice job at it. This included a strong postseason stretch in 2014.

The veteran pitcher never flashed premium velocity. In fact, he rarely ever touched 90 MPH on his fastball but he had a knack for attacking the strike zone, limiting walks, and missing the barrel of the bat. Those types of traits can offset the lack of velocity as Petit demonstrated throughout his 14-year career.

The Giants hope that some of the qualities that made him have such a long career can rub off on the younger Giants pitchers, including Doval. It was a tough year for the 2023 NL All-Star as he struggled to a 4.88 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 39 walks in 59 frames with the Giants. This included a brief demotion to Triple-A while losing his closer role to Ryan Walker.

Doval still had no problem getting hitters to swing and miss but he did have a rough time with his command. He 5.9 BB/9 rate conveys that he was giving up way too many free passes but he had far too many misses in the middle of the zone as well.

Even with a 100 MPH and an above-average slider, hitters will take advantage of mistakes in the middle of the zone. The Giants hope Doval can get back to his pre-2024 form where he was an effective closer.

That is one of the reasons why Petit is in camp. Of course, he is in camp because he has a lot to offer. However, the veteran reliever has been working closely with Doval in camp (hat tip to Justice delos Santos of the Bay Area News Group):

Doval could be viewed as an X factor in the Giants 'bullpen in 2025. If he is throwing well, it could give Bob Melvin another high-leverage reliever.