Yankees’ Coaching Success with Pitchers
For quite some time, the Yankees and their pitching coach, Matt Blake, have been recognized for transforming underperformers from other teams into valuable bullpen assets. It’s quite an achievement, really.
Take Clay Holmes, for example. He was just wandering around with Pittsburgh before joining the Yankees. Then there are lesser-known names like Wandi Peralta, Lucas Luetge, and Ian Hamilton—all of whom found renewed purpose after arriving in New York.
And let’s not forget Fernando Cruz. His time with the Yankees has seen him shine more than he ever did back in Cincinnati, especially after the deal that exchanged Jose Trevino last offseason.
They each came in with somewhat impressive track records and quickly improved under the Yankees’ guidance.
But there’s been one puzzling case: Devin Williams. With a stellar performance in previous seasons, it’s surprising to see him struggle.
What went wrong for him, and how did Blake and the coaching staff address it?
“It was shocking for everyone,” Blake remarked regarding Williams’ early-season hardships. He allowed 10 runs in just eight innings in his first ten outings, with a dozen hits and seven walks.
“We were all trying to figure out what was happening,” Blake explained. Williams wasn’t generating the swings or strikes they expected. It raised a lot of questions that needed immediate answers.
Now, Williams is set to return to a closer role, at least temporarily, as Luke Weaver deals with a hamstring issue. Gradually, the former Brewer seems to be rediscovering his form.
After starting off with a WHIFF rate of just 26.8% and a 25.6% for his ChangeUp and four-seamers during March and April, he improved significantly in May, recording 39.6% and 47.1%, respectively. These figures closely mirror those from his successful stint with the Brewers last season, where he had a 48.8% on the ChangeUp and 32.7% on fastballs.
“I think he’s feeling more comfortable in the environment,” Blake noted about Williams.
On a tactical note, Blake mentioned that Williams might have been leaning too heavily on his ChangeUp early on, and lacking command of his fastball limited his effectiveness.
Since then, Blake has seen Williams become more unpredictable and aggressive in the strike zone, which has helped improve his performance.
Not quite at his peak yet, but the results are trending upwards. His strikeout rate has risen from 11.4 to 12.8 per nine innings since May 7, while his walks have decreased from 4.5 to 1.5 per nine.
In his last thirteen appearances, he’s only issued two walks while striking out 17 batters, with a whip of 0.830.
“I believe the best step we took was to pull him back a little,” Blake said. It was a tough call regarding his relationship with Williams, but they felt it would allow him to flourish in a different approach.
While Williams hasn’t returned to his previous role, questions linger about what the Yankees might do, especially if they consider trading for Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes.
Blake, however, feels more assured about Williams now.
“He’s found a good rhythm and is more adept at executing his offensive game plan against batters,” Blake explained. He might encounter some bumps along the way, but there seems to be a new level of stability building for him.
