New Yankee Ryan Weathers Details His Splitter-Like Changeup

Miami Marlins bullpen coach Brandon Mann was featured here at FanGraphs last September, the subject at hand being changeups thrown by the team’s hurlers. Mentioned at the end of the piece was a southpaw whose changeup Mann called “really, really good.” I was remiss in not asking for specifics. Ryan Weathers has one that is well worth knowing about.

I’ve since had an opportunity to hear about it straight from the horse’s mouth. Weathers is now wearing pinstripes — New York acquired him via trade back in January — and with Mann’s mention in mind, I broached the topic on my visit to Yankees camp in mid-March. Not only was the 26-year-old left-hander amenable to discussing his signature offering, he did so in nuanced detail.

Here is my conversation with Weathers, who is scheduled to make his first start with his new team tonight against the Mariners in Seattle.

———

David Laurila: Brandon Mann told me you have a good changeup. What is the story behind it?

Ryan Weathers: “When I got traded to the Marlins [from the San Diego Padres] in 2023, I didn’t really have a good changeup. Scott Aldred, who was the pitching coordinator at the time, showed me a grip. I kept playing with it, but it didn’t have the downward vertical break that I wanted, nor the separation from my fastball. But then, during the offseason going into the 2024 season, I had one bullpen on Trackman where — same grip — it just started bottoming out. I was like, ‘That looks like a splitter.’ Ever since that bullpen, my changeup has been around one vertical, one horizontal, more like a split-changeup than a traditional changeup. If I click one, it will go down into the negative. It kind of has a mind of its own.”

Laurila: What is the grip?

Weathers: “It’s a two-seam orientation, but my fingers aren’t over the tracks, they’re across the tracks. I have my pinky finger close to my ring finger — all three fingers are kind of across — and I keep my wrist stiff, and get on top of it.

“It’s a little bit like a cut changeup. I’ve listened to Tarik Skubal’s thoughts on his, because I kind of had the same issues. I’m a natural supinator, so I had issues with getting my hand open to get to a changeup. He’s talked about how he’s trying to cut it, and how that keeps his hands on plane to get the correct orientation. In that one bullpen, I was thinking about trying to cut the ball, and it was just vacuuming down. It was bottoming out.”

Laurila: Where is your pointer finger?

Weathers: “I try to keep my pointer finger on the [top] seam, and then my thumb on the bottom seam. Then, when I come through, try to have my middle finger be the last thing that touches the baseball. That kicks the axis to where I get the saucer spin. It tumbles and gets that seam-shift to go down.”

Laurila: What are you looking for velocity-wise?

Weathers: “Ideally, I like it to be in the 86-88 range. That’s when I get the negative verticals, when I see it in the negative-one to negative-three range. When I’m throwing it a touch harder, like 90, it will be a one. I also like the Maddux Rule: eight to 10 [mph] off the fastball.”

Laurila: Is it your best pitch?

Weathers; “I’d like to think it is, but right now it’s ticking me off a little bit. I’m not getting it in good spots. Once I’m back to getting it in good spots, it will be a good weapon for me.”

Laurila: Is it just location, or are you are also not getting the movement you want?

Weathers: “It’s just location. Against the Braves the other day [on March 13], I threw a really good one to [Ozzie] Albies, and then I threw another good one. But it’s hard to throw three good ones to a big league hitter in the same at-bat, and my third one was kind of middle away, as opposed to down and away. He had the ability to slap it the other way. Well, that was just poor pitching on my part. That ball has to be buried.

“With two strikes, or in positive counts, I’m getting a lot better at attacking with it for strikes. In the past, I wasn’t really able to land it for strikes. Now I am landing it for strikes, but I also need to get it below when I need to get it below. Again, poor pitching on my part.”

Laurila: What typically causes you to leave the pitch up?

Weathers: “I’m probably holding onto it a touch longer.”

Laurila: Can you elaborate on that?

Weathers: “With the way my changeup moves, having that splitter profile, if I want to throw it for a strike… it’s about picking a target, and when I hold onto it longer… it’s kind of the old-school thought process where you want to ride that plane as long as you can, then get the tumble below. So, it’s really a target adjustment. When I want to get it below, I pick something on the catcher that can get it below, and when I want to throw it for strike, I pick something where I can land it for a strike. If I’m trying to finish for a strikeout, I’m looking logo on the chest protector. For me, that’s a good starting point. To land it for a strike, it’s probably the logo on the umpire’s shirt. Because my changeup has the downward trajectory, I need to have the right target in my sightline to land it where I want.”