The New York Yankees have managed to stay in the fight without their ace, and Ryan Yarbrough has played a sneaky big role.
While Gerrit Cole continues to recover from Tommy John surgery, the rotation needed a collection of steady hands—Yarbrough’s been that and more.
He’s not flashy, not overpowering, but his presence has helped hold things together when the margins have been razor-thin.
A baseball nomad finds his place in the Bronx
The 33-year-old lefty has bounced around in recent years, logging innings for the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season.
Across those two clubs, Yarbrough posted a 3.19 ERA over 98.2 innings, leaning on soft contact and smart pitch sequencing.
This season, in 50 innings for the Yankees, he’s carrying a 3.96 ERA—numbers that reflect consistency more than dominance.
On Friday night against the Red Sox, Yarbrough delivered again with 4.2 innings of one-run ball and three strikeouts.
Soft contact specialist doing what he does best
While he didn’t reach the fifth inning, his performance set the tone and gave the Yankees every chance to win the game.
Unfortunately, the bats didn’t show up until the ninth, when Aaron Judge tied things up with a clutch solo homer.
Even with the offense falling short, Yarbrough’s outing felt like another quiet win for the Yankees’ pitching infrastructure.
He’s not blowing past hitters, but that’s never been his game—it’s more chess than checkers, and he plays it well.
The metrics tell a more impressive story
What makes Yarbrough particularly valuable is the way he limits damaging contact despite a lack of high velocity stuff.
He currently ranks in the 92nd percentile in barrel rate and 94th percentile in hard-hit rate—elite territory for weak contact.
That means when hitters do make contact, it’s not the kind that usually finds gaps or leaves the yard.
His style demands a strong defense behind him, and luckily, the Yankees have provided that more often than not.
A stabilizer the Yankees didn’t expect—but desperately needed
Yarbrough isn’t being asked to carry the load, but he’s helped lighten it for a bullpen that’s already under pressure.
With young arms like Will Warren still developing and Cole’s absence looming, Yarbrough’s reliability is worth its weight in gold.
He’s the kind of pitcher who won’t grab headlines, but his impact is felt in the rhythm he gives this pitching staff.
Much like duct tape in a storm, he might not be flashy—but he holds things together just enough to matter.
READ MORE: Yankees have strikeout weapon waiting in the wings at Triple-A
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