Yankees' nondrafted RHP Etheridge building on momentum in Arizona Fall League

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- J.T. Etheridge left the Louisiana-Lafayette dugout on June 2, 2024, and figured that might be the end of his baseball journey. 

Looks from Major League organizations had been limited, and although he punched out 52 batters in 32 2/3 frames during his senior year, Etheridge ran a 5.20 ERA over two seasons, primarily as a reliever. Twenty rounds of the MLB Draft came and went without his name being called, but the Yankees stayed in contact over the weeks to come.

At 6-feet-6, New York saw the same thing the Louisiana coaching staff did when they recruited Etheridge out of the JUCO ranks, eventually inking the righty to a $70,000 bonus as an nondrafted free agent.

“J.T. was a big raw country boy from Alabama that was coming off injury and still had a lot to learn and figure out about who he was,” Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Matt Deggs said. “He always worked his butt off and adapted to adjustments but needed consistency. We thought if he just got a shot and got to keep playing, he’d figure it out.”

Etheridge did receive his shot and he has run with it. After a regular season in which he led all Yankees Minor Leaguers with 13.3 K/9 (min. 60 innings), the righty has kept the momentum moving forward during a stint with Salt River in the Arizona Fall League. In each of his first three outings, he punched out a different Top 100 overall prospect and held opponents to a .206 average with 13 strikeouts in nine frames.

Etheridge was old for the Single-A Florida State League this year, but his AFL tenure will help prep him for a move up the system. It’s also given him time to enhance his arsenal as he prepares to face more advanced hitters on a consistent basis.

“I've had kind of a vulcan changeup grip since college and it's kind of been hit-or-miss -- some games it's there, some games it's not and I can't use it, I [become a] two-pitch pitcher,” Etheridge said. “We kind of shifted. I’m just throwing more of a splitter and literally getting it in the zone as much as possible. The shape's good. I'm just getting something in the zone where the batter -- righty and lefty -- has to respect it.”

Through his first three AFL outings, Etheridge threw the offering -- which Statcast has logged as a changeup -- 27 times. He got a whiff on seven occasions and landed it for a strike six times with hitters never putting it in play. 

Etheridge has sat 92-94 mph with his four-seamer (topping out at 94.9) and in the low 80s with his sweeper, but both have played up as he’s occasionally reached above-average extension. The combination of his height and unique low three-quarters slot give him a long motion, which he’s tried to shorten up in the past without much success. 

In addition to prioritizing his comfort on the bump, Etheridge has honed in on winning the race to two -- reaching two strikes in the count before two balls.

“I feel like it's something I’ve always tried to do, but the Yankees definitely push it,” Etheridge said of pounding the zone. “They give you kind of an idea of what pitches work well for you early in the counts and you kind of run with it, trust that.”

Etheridge worked at least four frames in 12 of his 22 outings for Tampa this year, walking two batters or fewer on 10 of those occasions. His overall numbers -- 5.17 ERA, 1.46 WHIP -- don’t jump off the page, but he yielded a whopping .355 BABIP (fourth-highest among all Florida State League hurlers with at least 60 frames) despite running a 23.3 line-drive percentage that ranked in the bottom half of that same group, an indication that he ran into some bad luck.

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The 24-year-old closed his first full campaign with a dominant four-start stretch (including the playoffs) of 22 consecutive scoreless frames with 30 strikeouts while holding the opposition to a .113 average. 

“There’s a killer deep down in there and it looks like he’s tapped into it,” Deggs said. “Watch out if he does.”