Springs Dominates Yankees

Jeffrey Springs walked into Yankee Stadium with a 5.06 earned run average in his first two starts, then held New York hitless for 6 1/3 innings before Ben Rice lined a single in the seventh on April 9. He finished seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts in an Athletics win that looked nothing like the version of Springs hitters had seen in late March. (apnews.com) The pitch that bent the game was his changeup, which is a slower pitch thrown to look like a fastball until it drops under the bat at the last moment. Springs used that pitch to freeze Aaron Judge for a called third strike in the third inning, and that told you New York was reading one speed and getting another. (apnews.com) Baseball Savant, Major League Baseball’s tracking system, shows why that pitch works when it is right. Springs’ changeup produced a 48.2 percent whiff rate in 2025, which means hitters missed nearly half the time they swung at it. (mlb.com) That matters because Springs does not overpower hitters with raw speed. Baseball Savant lists his 2025 average fastball velocity at 90.7 miles per hour, which sits in the 8th percentile of Major League Baseball and forces him to win with timing and movement instead of pure force. (baseballsavant.mlb.com) His recent career has been a stop-and-start story. He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow in April 2023, had Tommy John surgery, returned in July 2024, and then the Rays traded him to the Athletics before the 2025 season. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) The Athletics asked for volume from him right away, and he gave it to them in 2025. He made 32 appearances, including 30 starts, threw 171 innings, and led the club in wins, starts, innings, strikeouts, home runs allowed, and walks. (mlb.com) Those season-long totals hid one ugly pattern. The Athletics’ official player page says opponents posted an.836 on-base plus slugging mark against him in the first two innings in 2025, then just.643 from the third inning on, so the danger usually came before he had settled in. (mlb.com) That is why this Yankees outing lands differently than a normal good line in a box score. Springs was sharp from pitch one against a lineup that came into the day 8-3, and he kept that edge long enough to take a no-hit bid into the seventh instead of merely surviving the early traffic. (statmuse.com) (apnews.com) For opponents, the adjustment is simple and annoying at the same time. If Springs can land the fastball just enough to make hitters guard 90 miles per hour, the changeup turns into the trap door, and a left-hander with ordinary velocity starts looking like a starter you have to game-plan for three days in advance. (baseballsavant.mlb.com) (apnews.com)