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In the cold of April, the Giants are getting an early preview of their blazing bullpen of the future.
Camilo Doval and his upper-90s stuff, which has impressed early, was called up last week, and now his pal Gregory Santos has been summoned to add another strong righty arm to the mix.
Santos, who touches triple digits, is remarkably touching major league ball after making just eight starts in full-season ball (in 2019 with Low-A Augusta). Then the pandemic hit, and he kept in shape before his stuff played up as a reliever, and not a starter, in instructional league play.
That prompted his getting added to the roster, his getting a major league camp invite, his being included at the alternate site in Sacramento. He reportedly has been blowing away A’s competition, and now the 21-year-old will get a chance to do the same against major leaguers.
Santos was “super happy” when he got the call at about 10:45 a.m. Thursday, first calling his wife and then parents to tell them the news. Doval, who has made three appearances in his short time with the Giants, probably was not far behind.
The two met in 2017, when Santos was dealt to the Giants in the Eduardo Nunez deal, and were fast friends. Santos watched Doval get his first moment Sunday, when he struck out two in a clean inning.
“He looked like he was a veteran,” Santos said through translator Erwin Higueros.
The fact Santos and the 23-year-old Doval look like major leaguers is significantly encouraging for the Giants, who did not bring pitching prospects to their alternate site last year but have had a few success stories anyway; Kervin Castro is the third righty arm who was added to the roster in the offseason.
Santos did not pitch much in the Cactus League, but the reports from Sacramento were much better. As a reliever, he sticks to fastballs and sliders, and control is always an issue with high-octane arms like his. His command over his slider is coming around.
“The velocity is encouraging, but all the velocity in the world doesn’t help if you’re not able to attack the strike zone,” Kapler said before the Giants faced the Marlins at Oracle Park. “The fact that he’s thrown his slider for strikes gives us confidence here. He’s also been built up to be potentially more than one inning, potentially one-plus — I’m not saying that we go out and really extend him, but it wouldn’t be out of the question that we can get more than three outs from him.”
That is also significant for a bullpen that has lacked righty arms and now will face a righty-heavy lineup. Doval has pitched three games in four days; Matt Wisler, who has been inconsistent, has pitched two of three games; Tyler Rogers is leading the league with 11 appearances. With Reyes Moronta hurt, that comprises their righty arms.
They went with a righty arm over an infielder as they shuffled Donovan Solano to the injured list. It’s possible that changes if Brandon Crawford (rib) has to miss some time.
But for now, the future is here, and it is filled with fire.