Ryan Yarbrough, an experienced pitcher in the AL East, understands the challenges the Yankees pose to opposing teams. His encounters with the Yankees have shown him their potential for offensive disruption.
Left-handed pitchers, referred to as “splitters” by Aaron Boone, have had varying success against them in five starts. It seems that perhaps moving to a different kind of spin could yield better results than expected.
Yarbrough’s improved changeup, thanks to insights from a former Yankees minor league pitching coach, has become a key part of his arsenal. With multiple arm slots and a pitch velocity ranging from 67.7 to 90.9 mph, he aims to bolster the Yankees’ rotation, particularly as they prepare to face the Red Sox on Saturday.
“Catching him is a blast,” Austin Wells mentioned on Friday. He appreciates Yarbrough’s ability to locate pitches effectively, noting his skill in making batters swing and miss. “It’s definitely exciting to work with a guy who brings that energy.”
As he approached Saturday’s game, Yarbrough had accumulated five starts with an impressive 2.08 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 26 innings since joining the rotation.
The journey toward this success began during spring training with the Blue Jays.
Graham Johnson, who had previously served as pitching coach at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, continues to mesh well with the Yankees’ pitching team. He helped Yarbrough refine his changeup. Their partnership produced promising outcomes before Yarbrough opted out of a minor league contract, ultimately signing a $2 million deal with the Yankees just before the season started.
Initially, Yarbrough provided bullpen depth but quickly transitioned into a more prominent role when necessary.
“Graham clearly understands Yarbrough’s previous struggles with the changeup,” pitching coach Matt Blake noted on Friday. “Yarbs has shown genuine interest in adjusting his pitching repertoire, asking questions about past techniques and exploring new ideas.”
Yarbrough joined the Yankees while in Miami, engaged in discussions with the pitching team regarding his approach and adjustments. They revised his changeup over the first week of the season, making minimal alterations but opting to align his grip in a way that would induce more drop.
The outcome? Yarbrough has thrown 137 changeups, accounting for 20.6% of his pitches, and batters are hitting just .167 against it, with a slugging percentage of .367. Last season, that pitch contributed to 11 strikeouts with a control rate of 46.6%, quite an improvement from 22.7% the year before.
His changeup averages an exit velocity of 79.4 mph, landing him in the 99th percentile for average exit velocity against compared to 84.1 mph.
“I think we could refine it a bit more,” Yarbrough said regarding his changeup, which has averaged a vertical drop of 4.1 inches since last year. “But now, we can set it up to enhance its effectiveness.”
In addition to the changeup, Yarbrough is incorporating other pitches, including sweepers, with fastballs clocking in around 88.3 mph, 87.2 mph, 83.3 mph, and 71.8 mph.
Insights from Baseball Savant indicate that both the changeup and cutter originate from a similar arm angle (11 degrees), contrasting with the other pitches that diverge between 9 to 21 degrees.
“He presents a unique angle,” DJ LeMahieu commented. “While he may not be the fastest pitcher, his deliveries feel much more pressing. His fastball appears closer, while his off-speed pitches seem to hang back remarkably.”
