‘Their process works’: How Ian Hamilton became the Yankees’ latest bullpen find

Ian Hamilton picked up his first Yankee save on Saturday, another big step for a pitcher the Yankees signed to a minor league contract in February.

Through the first six weeks of the season, the right-hander looks like he may be the latest pitcher the Yankees have plucked out of anonymity and turned into a high-leverage reliever.

“That’s what I envisioned when I came here,” Hamilton said before the Yankees opened their series against the Rays with an 8-2 loss on Thursday in The Bronx. 

He had other opportunities, but knew the success the organization had with other relievers who had struggled elsewhere.

Clay Holmes is one notable example of what the team has been able to do. Holmes became an All-Star after failing to do much with the Pirates, who traded him to the Yankees in 2021.

“When you come to the Yankees, there’s confidence because there’s been success here and you know their process works,” Holmes said. “You buy in because you quickly learn there’s a reason why they like you and why you’re here. And they do a great job of showing you that reason. They say, ‘This is what’s really good and we want this to play with different matchups.’ They get you to believe it and it gives you extra motivation.”

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For Holmes, it was a devastating sinker, and the Yankees explained to him which sinkers worked in particular spots against certain batters.

“You can be distracted by trying to do too much, but here, you lock in on one thing and as you put together some good outings, your confidence starts to build more,” Holmes said. “It sounds simple, but getting to that spot and believing it is harder than saying it.”

In Hamilton’s case, the pitch the Yankees have lasered in on is his slider/changeup, which he’s throwing a career-high 54 percent of the time, according to Statcast, while he’s throwing his four-seam fastball about half as often as a year ago (26.8 percent compared to 52.4 percent).

“They want me to fill it up with that and just throw my other stuff to keep them off-balance,” said Hamilton, who had pitched just 14 ⅔ innings in the majors prior to this season. “Other teams have wanted me to throw more pitches.”

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He split last season in the Cleveland and Minnesota organizations. Pitching coach Matt Blake said there were signs of improvement with both teams. 

“It starts with identifying guys that have traits that might be underutilized,” Blake said. “We let guys know they do have a unique trait. It can be a breath of fresh air for those guys. They might not be totally aware of it and they can lean into it. We tell them what they do well naturally, they can do a lot.”

Other success stories include Wandy Peralta, as well as Lucas Luetge, who is now with Atlanta.

Blake’s knowledge of Hamilton goes back to Blake’s days with Cleveland, who was familiar with Hamilton when he was in the amateur draft in 2016 and went to the White Sox in the 11th round.

“You look at different traits and pitch metrics, and [the key is] being able to get that communication from why we’re acquiring the player from the front office to the coaching staff to the pitcher and catcher,” Blake said. “It’s a lot of conversations to make sure it’s clean and not complicated.”

And there’s no science to it.

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“You never know,” Blake said. “You might take shots with four or five guys in the offseason and if you see something click, you pour more into that guy,” Blake said. “If one sticks, it’s a good investment.”

Then there’s the process of having them face major league hitters as often as possible during the spring, increasing the “stress and pressure,” according to Blake.

“Ideally, you see if it’s gonna work and then ramp up the leverage situations,” Blake said. “And then they realize they’re looking around and they’re closing a game for the New York Yankees.”