Arguably the most valuable Yankees pitcher through three weeks of play believes he will get much nastier.
Luke Weaver has been excellent, having allowed zero runs on two hits with five walks in nine innings this season — which means stretching back to last year, he had not allowed an earned run in 15 consecutive regular-season outings.
Statistically, he has picked up where he left off after he emerged as a star closer last year and has been even more valuable than Max Fried through Baseball Reference’s WAR in 2025.
Metrically, his stuff has slowed.
A four-seam fastball that put hitters away more efficiently last year averaged 95.7 mph. This season, through seven games, the pitch sat at 93.2 mph. It has changed the way Weaver has pitched.
“I got to be mindful that this ain’t coming out the same,” Weaver said before the Yankees swept a series with the Royals in The Bronx. “So I can’t pitch the same way. I have to come with the same conviction and confidence that I got to get to the spot. I’ve got to get to the corners. I’ve got to mix. I’ve got to deceive.”
It has not changed the results.
“I’m proud of what I’ve been doing thus far because I feel like I haven’t clicked into my top-shelf self,” said Weaver, who did not pitch in the Yankees’ win on Wednesday. “But I feel really convicted and confident.”
He has reason to be. Weaver has slightly lesser stuff but still a changeup that dives away from bats and a cutter that hitters have done nothing with. Shifted out of the ninth inning because Devin Williams arrived with the “closer” title, Weaver instead has been an invaluable late- or middle-inning arm called on frequently to put out fires.
Tuesday, the fireman entered a two-on, two-out threat in the seventh inning while the Yankees led by two. It took just two pitches — a 93.7 mph fastball and 86 mph changeup — for Weaver to induce an inning-ending ground out.
Weaver’s new role comes with less prestige but similar stakes.
“There’s pivotal points in games where a starter comes in, [finishes] his innings and he’s got bases loaded, no outs in the third inning — well, that’s a game-changing moment right there,” said Weaver, who had been converted from a starter to a reliever. “[Tuesday] night, coming into a situation where I could have stunk it up and [suddenly it’s a] tie ballgame or we’re losing. … The adrenaline feels the same if I’m running out in the ninth inning or if I’m running out in that inning.”
Weaver had not given up a run himself and had not given up a teammate’s run: He entered games with five inherited runners, none of which touched the plate.
“His execution has been really good,” manager Aaron Boone said. He had not struck out hitters at the same rate — nine in his first nine innings this season after striking out 11.04 per nine innings last season — but he has located when he has needed to and induced a bit weaker contact. He is not planning on needing to be as fine as the season drags on, and he attributes the velocity dip to April weather that has been “probably the coldest I’ve ever had to pitch in in my career.”
“Hopefully as it warms up as the season unfolds, there’s more velocity in there,” Boone said.
The player and the team would be thrilled if a fastball that sometimes has been in the low-90s permanently enters the mid-90s.
But if not, Weaver is proving that even a lesser version of himself is a difficult one to hit.
“I think the key is just when you’re on the mound, it doesn’t matter if it’s 100 [mph] or if it’s 90 [mph],” Weaver said. “You find a competitive edge to get the person out, and it’s a little harder when it’s a little softer, but it makes it that much more challenging in finding ways to navigate.
“If it’s less swing-and-miss and less strikeout and more contact, ground ball, fly ball — outs are outs.”
