Last season the bullpen wasn’t as rock solid as we were used to seeing from the Yankees, who didn’t have a staff full of power arms nor did they have the upper-echelon strikeout stuff we’ve become used to seeing either. This group finished 15th in K-BB% (14.8) and 25th in fastball velocity (93.7 MPH), and while their ERA was solid, the lack of dominant strikeout-to-walk rates may have played a role in their defeat at the hands of the Dodgers in the World Series. Not every reliever needs to be a power strikeout pitcher, but the Yankees need to add to their group of high-whiff relievers.
Towards the end of the season, Clayton Beeter came up to the big leagues as a reliever after a shoulder injury, and the right-hander displayed high-level pitch quality grades with excellent velocity. If the Yankees want to ensure that their bullpen can rank near the top of the league in strikeout rate, developing Beeter into a quality reliever should be atop their priority list.
How Clayton Beeter Can Become a Big Part of the Yankees’ Bullpen
Across 36 innings in Triple-A, Clayton Beeter struck out 34.7% of batters faced with a 2.25 ERA. The reason for his limited action in Scranton came from a shoulder injury that many feared would end his season prematurely. Instead, he returned late in the season as a reliever, pitching in Double-A and Triple-A before reaching the Major Leagues again to provide some depth to a depleted unit.
What immediately stood out from his appearances as a reliever was that Beeter moved away from using his windup, delivering from the stretch and seemingly having better command and velocity. In seven innings as a reliever at the MiLB level, the right-hander struck out 12 batters, allowed two hits, and didn’t surrender a walk or run. His fastball and slider saw massive spikes in velocity, with Clayton Beeter sitting 95-96 MPH on the four-seamer and 85-86 on the slider with excellent movement profiles.
Excellent velocity and good movement are always a plus, but how pitches in a repertoire synergize with each other plays a key role in how successful a pitcher will be even if they have elite stuff.
READ MORE: Yankees reportedly ‘like’ star 3B free agent from playoff rivals
Clayton Beeter throws his slider and fastball with virtually identical release points and arm angles, and there isn’t a large gap in horizontal movement either. The big difference stems from their vertical movement, as his four-seamer has elite vertical ride and his slider has elite dropping action. These two pitches tunnel well and play off of each other perfectly, with his four-seamer establishing the top of the zone and the slider going down and away for whiffs.
It’s a simple two-pitch mix, but it works well for Clayton Beeter since batters would only see him once a game. The right-hander could provide two-inning outings or three-inning outings if needed, but I believe the Yankees should focus on building him up as an important part of this bullpen. They didn’t strike out batters at an elite clip as a bullpen last year, and Beeter could be a solution to some of those woes thanks to his excellent two-pitch arsenal.
He was in the 88th Percentile in Swinging Strike% at Triple-A this past season and had a 13.7% Swinging Strike% in his brief sample size in the big leagues. While projecting rookie production can be difficult, Steamer believes that Clayton Beeter could be one of the best in-house options in the Yankees’ bullpen.
Jake Cousins is considered a lock to make the Yankees’ bullpen in 2025 if he stays healthy after posting a 2.37 ERA and 34.2% strikeout rate across 37 appearances this season. With comparable median outcomes according to Steamer, perhaps the high-octane stuff that Beeter has combined with his newfound velocity in a bullpen role could allow him to translate seamlessly into a playoff contender’s bullpen.
If you can add Clayton Beeter to a group of Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Jake Cousins, and Mark Leiter Jr. it would shrink the Yankees’ list of open bullpen spots to two or three depending on whether they trade a starter or not. Perhaps this allows Brian Cashman to spend a little more on a reliever, being able to bring back an arm like Tim Hill while signing another high-octane arm like David Robertston or Kirby Yates.
Regardless of whether the team retains Juan Soto or not, they’ll need to find a way to get low-cost production at key position groups. The Yankees have an elite track record with relievers, and perhaps that track record allows them to convert Clayton Beeter into a legitimate bullpen weapon for them in 2025.