SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After struggling in his first two years at Vanderbilt, Bryce Cunningham emerged because the Commodores’ greatest starter in 2024, when he displayed a number of the greatest pitch metrics in school baseball. The Yankees pushed him right down to the second spherical of that 12 months’s Draft and signed him for a nicely over-slot $2,297,500.
Cunningham (NYY No. 5) broke into professional ball by dominating Excessive-A hitters to begin this season, posting a 2.14 ERA with a 44/10 Okay/BB ratio in 42 innings by his first seven begins. However he got here down with proper shoulder points in mid-Might, missed two weeks earlier than making a quick return in early June, then sat out the following two months. He made 4 quick begins on the finish of the season earlier than heading to the Arizona Fall League to construct up extra innings in hopes of a wholesome 2026.
“It was actually irritating, particularly with the momentum that I had going,” Cunningham mentioned. “However I simply felt prefer it sort of taught me so much all through that course of, so in some methods I feel it was possibly good. I really feel like now it’s beginning to get again to the consolation stage that I used to be at, so every little thing’s feeling good.”
In his first outing for the Mesa Photo voltaic Sox, Cunningham yielded 4 runs on 5 hits within the first inning in opposition to the Shock Saguaros. He began utilizing his greatest pitch, his vigorous changeup with spectacular depth, extra typically throughout a scoreless second inning and departed after strolling the leadoff hitter within the third.
Cunningham’s pure stuff appeared prefer it often does however he had bother commanding it, throwing 30 of his 51 pitches for strikes and producing simply three swings and misses. His fastball sat at 93-94 mph and topped out at 96, although it received hit laborious, and he had issue placing his mid-80s slider and mid-70s curveball the place he wished. His changeup ranged from 83-90 mph and induced two of his six outs although he deployed it simply seven instances.
Some scouts believed Cunningham’s changeup was the very best within the ’24 Draft. He mentioned he realized his cambio from his dad when he was a teen.
“He would not let me throw a breaking ball till I may hit him within the chest each throw, is what he instructed me,” Cunningham mentioned. “So fastballs and simply specializing in the changeup. He made me do it on daily basis.
“It has all the time been a weapon. I most likely did not use it as a lot as I ought to have early on, so I simply realized to make use of it extra now.”
Yankees hitters within the Fall League
Coby Morales, 1B/OF: An 18th-round pick of Washington in 2023, Morales batted .243/.318/.355 with 17 steals in 116 video games between Excessive-A and Double-A. After going deep seven instances in the course of the common season, he blasted a 402-foot homer in his AFL debut.
Manuel Palencia, C/1B: Palencia hit .272/.319/.350 in 66 video games between Rookie ball, Excessive-A and Double-A. He signed for $187,500 out of Venezuela in 2019 and options strong arm power as his greatest software.
Enmanuel Tejeda, 2B: Signed for $40,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, Tejeda is a contact hitter with strong velocity and a profession .424 on-base proportion within the Minors. A proper knee harm in July ’24 stored him out of video games for a full 12 months and he slashed .242/.389/.342 with 12 steals in 35 Single-A video games this season.
Yankees pitchers within the Fall League
Cade Smith, RHP (No. 19): Smith has good really feel to spin with a plus mid-80s slider and a strong low-80s curveball, and he units up his breaking balls with a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 96. The ’23 sixth-rounder from Mississippi State missed time with proper shoulder points this season and compiled a 2.50 ERA, a .170 opponent common and 42 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings between three stops, principally in Excessive-A.
Brady Kirtner, RHP: Drafted within the twelfth spherical out of Virginia Tech in ’23, Kirtner logged a 2.70 ERA, a .189 opponent common and 52 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings between two Class A ranges in his professional debut. He works with a 91-95 mph fastball and low-80s slider.
Hueston Morrill, RHP: Morrill posted spectacular numbers between Excessive-A and Double-A, with a 0.76 ERA, a .118 opponent common and 42 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings. Signed as a nondrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State in ’22, he spent most of his school profession as a center infielder. He generates a whole lot of weak ground-ball contact with a low-90s sinker whereas utilizing an upper-80s cutter and mid-80s slider to overlook bats.
Adam Stone, RHP: Signed as a nondrafted free agent from Harvard in ’22, Stone has missed all the final two seasons due to a proper shoulder pressure adopted by Tommy John surgical procedure. In his first AFL outing, he leaned closely on an 86-92 mph cutter whereas starting from 93-96 together with his fastball.
