The New York Yankees acquired relief pitcher Addison Russ from the Philadelphia Phillies Friday. Jeff Passan of ESPN broke the news of the trade, and the Yankees are sending David Hale to the Phillies.
Russ, 25, is a right-handed pitcher who has yet to make his MLB debut. The Phillies drafted him in the 19th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He will report to the Yankees Alternate Site.
Trade news: The New York Yankees acquired RP Addison Russ from the Philadelphia Phillies, sources tell ESPN. The 25-year-old right-hander has been dominant over his minor league career, with a 2.48 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 152.2 innings. He’ll head to New York’s alternate site.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 21, 2020
A Potential Diamond In the Rough
There are some discrepancies as to Russ’s upside. Baseball America considers him the Phillies 24th-best prospect, but MLB.com does not list him as one of their top-30 prospects and FanGraphs lists him outside of their top 40. He can hit 96 MPH, and his pitch mix features a splitter.
New Yankees reliever Addison Russ touches 96-ish mph, pairs it w/ a splitter that does a bit of a two-seamer thing. Had a 2.54 ERA in 55 games last year at Double-A.
— Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) August 21, 2020
Regardless of where he ranks on prospect lists, Russ has proven that he can pitch while climbing up the MiLB ladder. Although he has yet to play above Double-A, he has a track record of getting batters out. His career ERA as a professional is 2.48 with a 1.087 WHIP. Most impressive is his K/9 of 11.8, and it reached as high as 12.9 in 56 2/3 innings pitched in 2019.
Russ is able to strike batters out a tremendous clip. With each level he has reached in MiLB, he has seen his K% increase at every stop. According to FanGraphs, during his first season in professional ball, he struck out 25% of batters he faced while with Low-A Williamsport.
In 2019, that number jumped up to 34.2% at Double-A Reading. Additionally, he has seen his fly ball rate decrease, from 54.5% to 33.1%, and his ground ball rate increase, from 36.4% to 44.9%.
Russ shows promise as a versatile relief option. He primarily works the ninth inning, and he recorded a 3.27 ERA in 41 1/3 innings while working that part of the game in 2019. Additionally, he pitched five innings while working the seventh inning of games with a 0.00 ERA and 8 1/3 innings pitched working the eighth inning, recording a 1.08 ERA.
Interestingly enough he was a much better pitcher on the road in 2019, recording a 1.23 ERA compared to a 3.95 ERA in roughly the same sample size at home.
Causes For Concern
The potential looks to be present with Addison Russ, but there are reasons he is not considered among the best prospects. One issue is that his BB% has risen with his K%. His overall BB/9 rate is 2.6, which is average. However, that rate has fluctuated, and he posted numbers of 3.09 in 2018 and 3.18 in 2019.
FanGraphs’s ZiPS projections feel that the BB/9 numbers will continue to balloon for Russ. As he continues to develop, they predict increases to as high as 3.86 but no lower than 3.66 over the next three seasons.
It appears evident that as his stuff has improved, he has struggled to command it. This can be spun in a positive light because if he can harness this ability, he can be a quality option for the Yankees bullpen.
Pitching With Men On Base
An issue with Russ is that his performance is dependent on how many men are on base. His ERA was 0.62 in 27 2/3 innings pitched with the bases empty in 2019. That number increased to 2.79 with a runner on first. However, Russ pitched 19 1/3 innings with runners in scoring position, recording a 5.12 ERA.
There is quite a jump in ERA for Russ from low leverage situations to high leverage ones. This can be traced to his percentage of men left on base. In 2018, he did a great job at stranding runners at 80.8% and 86.7% across two levels. In 2019, that number dropped down to 66.1%.
Therefore, it is evident that Russ struggles as batters reach base and get closer to scoring.
Hard Hit Balls
Batters hit the ball hard against Russ. Although he has seen his ground ball and fly ball rates go in positive directions, fly balls that are hit off of him are leaving the ballpark. His time spent with Single-A Clearwater in 2018 saw 12% of fly balls hit against him go for home runs, and that percentage was 11.9% for all of 2019.
That could be a result of over half of the balls put in play against him being pulled. In fact, his spray chart shows that the majority of the home runs hit against him have been pulled. Additionally, his line drive percentage sits around 20%-22% throughout his career.
While it is reassuring to see the positive trends in Russ’s strikeout and ground ball rates, it is concerning to see signs of hard-hit contact when batters are able to elevate the baseball.
Outlook
Addison Russ has never played past Double-A. Therefore, the chances are not as high that he will have a major impact for the Yankees in 2020. He shows promise with his increasing ability to strike batters out and induce ground balls.
The issue comes from his lack of control, struggles in high leverage situations, and the hard contact that he allows. Getting those under control will be the key for Russ to excel moving forward.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
