NY bullpen 2021

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,714
I don’t think Boone is an especially smart guy, he’s not dumb but he was an underwhelming commentator and now is an underwhelming manager. He comes into games prepared with a lot of info (presumably supplied by the front office) but has always been pretty bad at adapting quickly when needed mid-game, a huge part of being a manager.

The real question is why was Loaisiga warming in the first place? That should have been Green’s job, Loaisiga needed another day off.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,714
Bumped after a month, amazing how well the final sentence applies to the most recent Yankee game. You know what they say, those who cannot learn from history are booned to repeat it.

New bullpen acquisition Clay Holmes has some fascinating numbers if you drill down a bit. He is #1 in MLB in % of ground balls from a RHP, also his platoon splits are massive, .471 OPS allowed to RHB (113 PAs), .926 to LHB (76 PAs). Mike Axisa says:

"Holmes is arguably the best ground ball righty in baseball. He does it with a mid-90s two-seamer that runs all over the place. All those ground balls are weak ground balls too. Holmes has limited hitters to an 86.8 mph exit velocity this season, well below the 88.2 mph league average. He also throws a curveball and a slider, though they’re mediocre pitches hitters don’t really chase. That and all the movement on the two-seamer help explain the high walk rate.

With the Pirates, Holmes threw 50/50 fastballs and breaking balls. Might be time to scale back on the curve and slider, and spam hitters with something like 90% two-seamers like Britton. "

That makes a lot of sense on paper, curious to see if that is really the plan and if he can figure out how to get lefties and throw strikes more consistently.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,714
Cessa and Wilson traded, O'Day out for the season, time for a pecking order update. Guys with asterisks have options:

Holmes
Romano
*Peralta
Luetge
*Loaisiga
*Green
Britton
Chapman

Minors: Abreu, Nelson, Kriske (all on the 40 man)
AAA and not on the 40 man but all pitching great: Warren, McClain, Weissert, Ridings, Bristo
eligible to return from the IL in early Sept: Michael King
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,714
Stephen Ridings pitched himself into NY's future bullpen picture in spectacular fashion last night, it really reminds me of when Loaisiga did that a few years ago. Both went from rookie ball right to the 40 man (Ridings isn't there quite yet, he was a Covid replacement last night), both have fantastic stuff, and both had insane K/BB ratios (Ridings was 42/4 in AA/AAA this year, Loaisiga's was 67/8 in 2018 when he was first called up). Ridings is a couple years older (25 to 23), but he is already a full-time reliever, Loaisiga was a SP for a while and it took him a couple years to fully transition.
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
Stephen Ridings pitched himself into NY's future bullpen picture in spectacular fashion last night, it really reminds me of when Loaisiga did that a few years ago. Both went from rookie ball right to the 40 man (Ridings isn't there quite yet, he was a Covid replacement last night), both have fantastic stuff, and both had insane K/BB ratios (Ridings was 42/4 in AA/AAA this year, Loaisiga's was 67/8 in 2018 when he was first called up). Ridings is a couple years older (25 to 23), but he is already a full-time reliever, Loaisiga was a SP for a while and it took him a couple years to fully transition.
This looks like payback for losing Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 last year. Ridings was awful in 2019 in his second minor league season in KC's system. Then came 2020. KC must have had roster problems and released Ridings last November. Yanks signed him in January. Long Island native. Yanks must have known about him all along. His K/BB ration kept falling in 2017-2019 but it was ridiculously low this season. He reminds me a bit of Ron Davis, a late 1970s/early 1980s Yankees reliever. But he's taller at 6-foot-8. Can Ridings sustain this? One of the fun questions for this week.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,714
This looks like payback for losing Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 last year. Ridings was awful in 2019 in his second minor league season in KC's system. Then came 2020. KC must have had roster problems and released Ridings last November. Yanks signed him in January. Long Island native. Yanks must have known about him all along. His K/BB ration kept falling in 2017-2019 but it was ridiculously low this season. He reminds me a bit of Ron Davis, a late 1970s/early 1980s Yankees reliever. But he's taller at 6-foot-8. Can Ridings sustain this? One of the fun questions for this week.
He evidently gained 8 MPH on his fastball after extensive work with Eric Cressey’s company, who alerted NY to his existence. Ridings thinks he maybe still has more in the tank potentially, 103 or 104 (!!!!).
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
He evidently gained 8 MPH on his fastball after extensive work with Eric Cressey’s company, who alerted NY to his existence. Ridings thinks he maybe still has more in the tank potentially, 103 or 104 (!!!!).
If you wonder where the hitters have gone, blame Eric Cressey. I don't know if hitters can handle this kind of velocity, especially later in the season as bats slow down.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,714
Ridings is at 3.1 2 0 0 0 6 in 3 outings now, he got the 7th inning in a 0-0 game today and was great (3 Ks around a bloop single).

He and Holmes (7.1 3 1 1 0 7 in 6 games) both look like keepers under control longer-term (obviously very SSS for both but the stuff is there). Chapman, Britton and Green are all FAs after 2022, now they have Loaisiga (through 2024), Holmes (through 2024 or 2025), Abreu (through 2026) and Ridings (through at least 2026). Chapman and Britton aren't going anywhere but they could even trade Green's final season if it made sense, a lot of arms waiting for a chance behind him and Holmes and Abreu are both out of options.