The Best Bullpen In Baseball
- Aaron Gandia
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
As of June 30th, only one team in the majors has a combined bullpen ERA under 3.00. That team is the San Francisco Giants. The Giants have gone 45-39 in large part because of their dominant bullpen, which has a 2.91 ERA. Their bullpen has received massive contributions from many pitchers.
1. Randy Rodriguez
Randy Rodriguez has been arguably the best breakout reliever in 2025. The 25-year-old righty has posted a 0.75 ERA along with a 12.75 K/9 while only walking 5.2% of the batters he's faced. His FIP stands at an outstanding 1.29, which shows that his breakout season is sustainable. After throwing a sinker along with a changeup in 2024, he's ditched both pitches and has only thrown a four-seam fastball and slider that have held hitters to a .160 batting average. Randy Rodriguez has established himself as one of the best relievers in MLB in his second season in the league.
2. Camilo Doval
Camilo Doval has been one of the best relievers from 2022 to 2023 as the closer for the Giants. After posting a 4.88 ERA in 2024 and subsequently being sent to the minors, it was a very disappointing season for the flamethrowing righty. However, he was considered unlucky by many metrics, including a FIP of 3.71 and an xERA of 3.46. Many people expected Doval to return to form in 2025, and he's delivered so far, posting a 2.70 ERA and a 3.00 FIP. Doval has reemerged as the Giants' closer as Ryan Walker struggled and lost the job. The reemergence of Doval has further solidified the bullpen. However, his cutter, which he throws 35% of the time with an average velocity of 99.1 mph, has shown unfavorable batted ball data as his XBA of the pitch is .295 compared to an actual .190 batting average. Expect Doval to show negative regression as the season progresses, but he should still remain one of the biggest high-leverage relievers in the Giants' bullpen.
3. Tyler Rogers
Tyler Rogers to this day is one of the strangest phenomena in baseball. The submarine right-hander throws the ball at a -60 degree arm angle and has a sinker that he throws at 83.1 mph. Despite his uniqueness, he's been consistently one of the most underrated relievers in baseball while posting good results. In 2025, Rogers has posted a 1.60 ERA along with a 2.37 FIP. His success this season has come by limiting hitters to a 64.2% ground ball rate, which is in the 99th percentile according to Statcast. Tyler Rogers has been one of the primary setup men in the Giants bullpen.
The Giants wouldn't be in playoff position without their dominant bullpen. Headed by their three dominant right-handers in the back end of the bullpen, the Giants look to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Note: For those saying lefty Erik Miller should be mentioned as one of the biggest contributors in the Giants bullpen, the surface numbers definitely make a case, 1.55 ERA. However, he has a 4.09 FIP and 4.44 xERA. These metrics can be attributed to the fact he's walked 20 batters and struck out only 20 batters this season. Having a perfect 1-1 ratio for walks and strikeouts on the season is never an encouraging sign, especially considering his amazing ERA. He is one of the many reasons why stats like ERA are outdated and don't paint the full picture when evaluating pitchers. Significant regression is due at some point.
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