Clearwater, Fla. — Eric Raiselman's breakout season was shocked even for Eric Raiselman.
Last year, Yankees prospects were largely happy just returning to the mound.
He was undergoing Tommy John's surgery as a freshman at the University of San Francisco.
He finished jointly at LSU, where he threw only the fastball and rode that fastball in 2022 to become the Yankees' fifth pick.
He played in just nine games in his first two professional seasons due to more injuries. Back pain was fed to a back cyst that needed to correct a series of surgeries.
He took the mound in 2024 as a forgotten prospect. Forgotten prospects were ultimately healthy and were now differently equipped. One Pitch Arsenal expanded to 3 and learned sliders and changeups during rehabilitation.
Once a pitcher who had to “find a way” realized through courage and smart that he could instead burn past batsmen.
He surged the system last year, touching on three levels and finished with Double-A Somerset in a campaign that ended with an ERA and 63 strikeouts in 38²/₃ innings.
“Go outside and see how it played and what the outcome looks like,” Raiselman said this week, “It was a shock at first.”
He and the batter were equally confused by the outrageous statistical lines and the overwhelming one that brought them an invitation to Major League Camp.
This camp began poorly – an allergic reaction sent him to the hospital before Grapefruitrigue season began, but changed towards what could become Raiselman's new norm.
In his second appearance in the exhibition season, Raiselman faced three batters, bowing his head and sending it all back to the dugout.
The Phillies batsman on Thursday shook in the eighth inning of eight pitches, missed fifth inning, and Raiselman attacked the fastball to reach 98.4 mph.
“It looked like a guy,” manager Aaron Boone said using scouting terminology, a high tribute to prospects. “It's really good, it's an easy strike, it's a real strong outing.”
Reyzelman still leads with fastballs, but he has a good ride, but now there's a changeup that's still tinkering around – throwing a little more hard than last season.
“We managed to do some crazy, crazy, things,” Reyzelman, 23-year-old Righty, said of the Yankees about their time in the lab along with their pitching mind. “The sliders and changeups have come a long way.”
He threw two sliders on Thursday. Both landed in the zone for a strike.
The Phillies batsman shook and missed in one of his two changeups.
“It was Hoham,” Boone said after a 7-7 tie at Bay Care Ballpark, “it was an inning that was a dominant inning right away.”
Raiselman certainly won't destroy the Yankees and camp. Though he pitched just 50 generations of career innings with minors, he looks like a pitcher who can help out right away this season.
Such developments are welcome for people from Northern California, but he dreams even bigger.
“My real goal is not to pitch in the major leagues,” Raiselman said. “It's about winning the World Series and playing a real role in joining and supporting the World Series.” [a debut is] This year, whether it's next year or whether it's a month or two from now, I know I haven't changed what I'm doing. I'm doing the exact same thing. And I know I'm in an organization that knows exactly which buttons to press, which people use, and how to use them. ”
