This Giant went from locksmith to lockdown reliever

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Ryan Walker needed a job.

When the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the Minor League Baseball season in 2020, the pitcher suddenly found himself with a lot of time on his hands. The new career he “just happened to fall into”?

Locksmithing, of course.

Without any previous experience in that field, Walker became a locksmith until baseball resumed. (He’s still practicing: Walker said he recently rekeyed his own house and saved $500 in the process.)

“It was fun,” the right-hander told MLB.com. “It was a lot of hands-on stuff, so it was fun to learn something like that. It’s a valuable skill to know.”

Still, there’s not a whole lot that locksmithing and baseball have in common. Well, maybe one thing.

“In locksmithing, you can do the same thing over and over again but run into a different problem each time,” Walker said. “I guess you could take that in baseball, too. You have to adapt and adjust to hitters and what you have that day and everything like that.”

Now in his second year as a crucial part of the Giants’ bullpen, Walker has done that remarkably well.

A 31st-round Draft pick in 2018 (a Draft round that no longer exists) who went from making keys to getting key outs, the 28-year-old was thrust into a high-leverage role soon after his debut in May 2023 and has never relinquished it.

Walker posted a 3.23 ERA in 61 1/3 innings as a rookie and has followed it up with a 2.81 mark in 16 innings in 2024. The native of Arlington, Wash., said he’s happy to reward the Giants’ faith in him.

“It means they obviously trust what I have and trust my stuff and trust that I can get anybody out in big situations,” Walker said. “And that’s what we want, especially as relievers. You want to work your way into those higher-leverage situations where you get those guys on base and you leave them on. It feels good to be trusted enough.”

Walker relies on just two primary pitches: a sinker in the mid-90s and a low-80s slider. The latter has 8.1 inches of horizontal break above average -- the seventh most in the Majors.

After visiting a personal trainer in the 2021-22 offseason and perfecting his mechanics, the righty added 5 mph on his sinker. It made a big difference -- but there were certainly adjustments Walker had to make.

“I randomly started throwing 97, whereas the year before I topped out at 92, so I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m a fastball guy now,’ which didn’t work out for me,” Walker said. “Then you have to learn how to pitch with the velo. Once I found that out, then I could start doing my thing again, if that makes sense.”

Especially coming from a pitcher with Walker’s unique delivery and release point, that velocity can be deadly to hitters.

Walker employs a crossfire delivery, turning almost toward third base and delivering the ball out wide -- giving him one of the most extreme horizontal release points in MLB.

Walker said his delivery gradually became more and more crossfire-style until he perfected it in 2021, aiming to offer hitters a look other pitchers don’t usually offer.

“You can hopefully get away with some things a little bit more,” Walker said. “If you accidentally leave a heater down the zone or whatever like that, the deception can make up for it a little bit.”

The right-hander has actually been better against left-handed hitters (.655 OPS) than fellow righties (.747 OPS) in his career. Take it from D-backs outfielder Pavin Smith, a lefty who has faced Walker: It isn’t easy.

“I just think it’s something you don’t see very often, so it’s definitely tough to pick up, and you’ve got to kind of find that arm slot,” Smith said. “The slider and heater will come out of the same spot, and one goes one way, and one goes the other.”

Smith said he couldn’t recall how he’d fared against Walker in June 2023 -- just that the result was “disappointing.” (Smith chopped a 96 mph fastball out to second base.)

“Oh, I put it in play?” Smith said when informed of the outcome. “Nice.”

That’s how it goes for Walker, who frequently hears from teammates and opposing hitters about his delivery and hard-to-hit stuff.

“Good to hear that I’m not a fun at-bat,” he said. “That’s what you want to hear from everybody.”