Ryan Walker

Ryan Patrick Walker

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• School Washington State University
• High School Arlington (WA) High School
• Debut May 21, 2023

• Born November 26, 1995 in Everett, WA USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Ryan Walker was one of a large number of professional players who had to re-think their priorities when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. A 31st round pick by the San Francisco Giants out of Washington State University in the 2018 amateur draft, he was considered a very marginal prospect at the time, with no hope of being one of the lucky few minor leaguers to be invited to spend the summer at the big league team's alternative training site when baseball activities finally resumed in late July. Instead, he had to go out and find a regular job, and took the opportunity to learn locksmithing. He kept it up even after he was able to return to pitching in 2021.

He opened some eyes in 2021 when he was brilliant pitching in relief for the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, with an ERA of 0.96 in 8 games after being called up to fill in a spot in spite of putting up just mediocre numbers in Class A with the Eugene Emeralds. In 2022, he continued to pitch well, going 7-3, 3.74 in 50 games between Richmond and the AAA Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League. He started 2023 in Sacramento, going 1-0, 0.89 in 15 games, earning his first look at the majors in May. He took full advantage of his chance, as he pitched 49 times for the Giants, going 5-3, 3.23. In Sacramento, he had been used three times as a starter - his first starting assignments since college - and the Giants continued to use him in the role, albeit more as an opener that a regular starting pitcher. 13 of his appearances were as his team's first pitcher of the game, although in only two of these did he make it as far as the 3rd inning.

He was back as a key member of the Giants' bullpen when the 2024 season started.

While he is a righthander, he employs a delivery most often associated with lefty specialists, throwing cross-body with an horizontal arm angle. As very few righties pitch this way, batters find it hard to focus on his release point and it helps to keep them off-balance - including left-handers. He perfected his delivery during the 2021 season, and along with an improved slider, this helped turn him from a faceless organizational soldier in the Giants system to a genuine big league prospect.

Further Reading

• Theo DeRosa: "This Giant went from locksmith to lockdown reliever", mlb.com, May 1, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Ryan Walker on mlb.com
• Washington State University bio