The SF Giants may have just found their closer of the future

The SF Giants shook things up when they sent closer Camilo Doval down to Triple-A to address his struggles. They plugged reliever Ryan Walker into the closer role and in his early showings he is making a case to be the closer of the future for the team.

Walker had been having a really great year as a late inning reliever for the Giants. He has a high-90's fastball with sink on it and a wicked slider which is a pretty typical combination for a closer. However, Walker had only recorded one save in his MLB career before being named Doval's replacement. He had been showing a lot of positive signs, but you never know if a guy can truly handle 9th inning duties until you throw him out there and see if he sinks or swims.

So far, Walker has looked great in the role. He pitched through some traffic to get his first save in the role against the Tigers and then pitched a solid 9th inning to keep the Giants close in a game against the Braves.

Ryan Walker making a case to be the closer of the future for the SF Giants

Then, on Sunday against the A's in what may be the final game between the Giants and A's when they are cross-Bay rivals, he came in and pitched two clutch innings to get the victory for the Giants. 5 of the 6 outs he recorded came via strikeout and he pitched through an error by Brett Wisely in the bottom of the 10th that, along with a 4-pitch walk, helped the A's load the bases with no outs.

Just imagine Camilo Doval in that situation. Bases loaded, no outs, and a two-run lead. With how inconsistent he has been finding the strike zone, he may well have just walked in two runs to tie the game. Instead, Walker proved why he is the guy manager Bob Melvin tasked with this difficult role.

Walker clutched up and struck out all 3 batters. He didn't even let a count get to two balls on the final three batters as he sinkered and slidered (both real words) his way to victory. It was the kind of scenario that every closer faces eventually and Walker absolutely showed he had the guts to take the ball in that moment.

It is still very early in Walker's tenure as the team's closer, but performances like the one he had on Sunday make you think that he has the potential to be the team's closer beyond this season if he continues to step up and be clutch in huge situations.