Tony Vitello may have unlocked new setup man in first SF Giants win of year vs. Padres

The SF Giants got their first win of the year Monday night against the San Diego Padres. It was a solid all-around win as the team got a great pitching performance from starter Landen Roupp, but maybe the biggest story from the game is how great Keaton Winn looked as a setup man.

Winn came into the game in the eighth inning with the Giants up 3-0. He struck out all three batters he faced and looked pretty dominant with his fastball-splitter combination. If Winn could turn himself into a solid late-inning man for San Francisco, that would be a huge development for manager Tony Vitello as he learns to manage a big-league bullpen.

SF Giants may have a new setup man in Keaton Winn

Coming into spring training this year, Winn was not assured a job. With all of the injuries he's dealt with the last few years the biggest question was really just whether he would be able to stay healthy. Thankfully, he did and earned a job thanks to a strong spring.

Even after he made the team, though, it was unclear what role he would serve in the bullpen. Given the fact that he was a starting pitcher just a few years ago, it would have made sense if he was used as a long reliever and primarily came in to eat up two innings or more.

Yet, his stuff is clearly electric enough to be an effective late-inning reliever. He has a fastball that can reach the upper-90's and when he's right that splitter can be absolutely deadly.

Obviously, it is still early in the year but Winn has been really impressive. He has pitched three scoreless innings so far in the first four games of the season and has struck out six batters. He's only allowed one baserunner on a walk so his command has been good and he is looking really strong.

Winn did have the added benefit of coming in with a fresh coaching staff this season. Manager Tony Vitello and the staff he assembled was looking at Winn with fresh eyes without watching him through his ups and downs so they had an unbiased view of what he brings to the table.

The bullpen as a whole has actually been quite sharp for the Giants early on. It was a huge question mark coming into the season and four games is not a large enough sample size to declare that those fears were overblown, but it's a nice start.

We will see if Winn can keep it up, but if he can that would be a huge boost to a bullpen that needs guys to step up this season.