Joe Ryan was a solid starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins last season. Through three starts this season, he looks dominant. His latest gem was at Yankee Stadium Thursday night when he struck out 10 and allowed just one run and three hits over seven innings.
Is it the natural progression of a young pitcher or is it something more? It’s probably a bit of both, though the data MLB Network flashed on the screen Friday morning suggest that he’s getting a lot more movement on his off-speed pitches compared to a year ago.
In 2023, Ryan has replaced his slider with a sweeper and he’s gone with a splitter over a changeup and the results are incredible. His slider in 2022 averaged 3.1 inches of break, whereas his newfound sweeper averages a whopping 14.3 inches of break.
His changed averaged 29.1 inches of drop last year compared to 40.1 inches of drop on his newfound splitter.
The @Twins conquered the horrors of Yankee Stadium last night! 😱#MLBCentral | @markdero7 | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/DANtE06L9P
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 14, 2023
It’s unclear where MLB Network got its data, but according to Statcast Ryan has thrown 53 splitters this season with an average vertical drop of 38.6 inches. For context, Shohei Ohtani’s splitter has averaged 30.3 inches of drop this season.
Last season, Twins reliever Cole Sands led the majors with an average of 39.1 inches of drop on his splitter, so what Ryan is doing with his new splitter isn’t just impressive, it’s world class.
More movement on his secondary pitches is a good explainer for why Ryan has been mostly dominant through 19 innings this season. It’s a small sample size, but back-to-back 10-strikeout games and three very strong starts is encouraging for a team that hopes one or two starters can develop into high-end arms.
