ERC came via trade from the Red Sox, yet he has the feel of a classic IFA Yankee arm in the lowers—a lively arm with raw spin capability, zippy fastball, but feral. The high walk rates need improvement, and he’s off to an encouraging start in that department in 2025, having walked 3/3/0/1/2 hitters his first five outings. ERC’s also one of only four pitchers to throw multiple FQOs this season, having done so in back-to-back starts heading into this one. It seemed time to check in on the lean whippy arm talent and see what’s baking. I did not expect what I found.
Having not reviewed his previous outings, the broadcast booth was queuing us on some developments. ERC threw a lot of splitters. More so than they’ve ever seen, per the booth. Mostly to lefties, but you’ll spot a few right on right. He threw about twice as many secondaries as fastballs. This sure seemed like a developmental outing, something the Yankees seem to do a good job with some of their young arms. Encouraging, but even more encouraging was ERC earning results while pitching to development. A 67% strike rate pops in this context. You will still see more non-competitive pitches than you’d like, particularly some with fastballs. Throwing so much “junk” and then coming back to the fastball seemed a bit of a challenge this day. See for yourself:
Having written ERC off as a preferred dynasty play, shying away from these types as execution ability tends to be capped for most arms like this, this outing has me questioning that call. At 4% rostered, there’s a middling interest here from dynasty owners, which makes sense. ERC is still very much a developing arm, but one that appears to be putting the work in and making strides in the direction we’d want. Lively stuff getting corralled and sharpened here. The get-the-good-stuff-around-the-zone execution might signal its ability to play against more advanced lineups. ERC has my attention. Seeing ERC in AA, still fairly raw, and getting results in 2025 wouldn’t shock me.