Tim Hill was a garbage time reliever for an all-time bad White Sox team at the start of last season, but since joining the Yankees, he’s become a fan favorite and Aaron Boone’s trusted left-hander. He posted a 2.05 ERA with the Yankees in 35 appearances last season, earning him a one-year deal at $2.85 million that comes with a club option for 2026. Somehow, he’s looking even better in 2025, as the 35-year-old is starting to see some more strikeouts to go with an unfathomably high groundball rate.
One of the team’s best weapons in high-leverage situations, Tim Hill has continued to be both clutch and reliable in big spots as a one-of-a-kind submarine pitcher who finds a way to overpower hitters while averaging 88 MPH on his fastball.
Yankees Continue To Get Dominant Outings From Tim Hill
When you think of dominant relievers, you think of guys with a signature secondary pitch or hard-throwers with heaters that have good movement. Whether it’s Fernando Cruz’s alien splitter, Devin Williams’ airbender, or Jonathan Loaisiga’s bowling ball sinker, the Yankees have been known to acquire relievers with filthy stuff, but you could argue the most reliable arm of them all is Tim Hill.
He throws a fastball that’s slower than Marcus Stroman’s, doesn’t have a reliable pitch outside of his fastball, and the worst team in baseball history chose to cut him last season. Those traits should result in a pitcher bouncing around from Triple-A affiliate to Triple-A affiliate before being filtered out of affiliated baseball, but instead, Hill has become the guy that Aaron Boone turns to in order to stop the bleeding or nail down a win.
Since signing with the Yankees in 2024, Hill has a 2.17 ERA with a 72.8% GB%, as no qualified reliever has kept the ball on the ground more than the crafty southpaw. The Yankees identified that his sinker was a unique pitch and have not only had Hill lean on it more than ever, but they have also had him drop down even more to get as low of a release point as possible.
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His sinker has become even harder to hit as a result, as no left-handed reliever has a lower arm angle or release height than Tim Hill does with the Yankees. That unique release point paired with pristine command has allowed Hill to attack various parts of the zone depending on the batter’s handedness, the count he’s in, and the desired outcome he wants.
The sinker is thrown on the first base of the plate against both righties and lefties, being able to get soft contact and called strikes because of the movement he gets on the pitch. Hill’s sinker has tons of lateral and horizontal movement, and with the one-of-a-kind release point, it makes the low velocity irrelevant. You wonder how opposing fans have to feel watching Tim Hill pitch; he’s a guy slinging a baseball like he’s skipping rocks at 89 MPH, and he’s somehow getting the best hitter on your team out.
Reliability is key for a reliever, and Tim Hill has been about as automatic as it gets for this bullpen. He has appeared in 44 games with the Yankees in his career, and he’s had just two meltdowns according to FanGraphs. He’s only posted a negative WPA in six of his 44 outings, and that’s the consistency the Yankees have desperately needed in their bullpen.
Fernando Cruz, Mark Leiter Jr., Ian Hamilton, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams all throw harder than Tim Hill and have better swing-and-miss rates, and yet it’s the funky left-hander who leads them all in Stuff+ thus far. The Yankees are great at identifying relievers because they target unique traits and qualities, not just looking for the hardest thrower or the priciest name out there.
Don’t let the low velocity or mild-mannered temperament fool you; Tim Hill is absolutely filthy, he just does so in ways that are unconventional. This is one of the best relievers in baseball right now, and with some more swing-and-miss in his game this season, we could be looking at another heist of a signing at under $3 million for 2025.