No one ever taught Ryan Yarbrough to pitch the way he does.

No one ever told him to stop, either.

That’s a bit surprising given his herky-jerky, all-joints-flying-at-you, cross-firing delivery. A picturesque model of what a pitcher’s mechanics should look like, the Yankees’ southpaw is not.

But that’s the point.

“I can only imagine, as a lefty, the discomfort that comes with that at-bat,” said Ben Verlander, who hit right-handed but still didn’t enjoy facing Yarbrough when the two were teammates at Old Dominion. “You’re just looking for the ball coming out of his hand, and all of a sudden you see all these limbs moving all over the place.”

“He doesn’t throw very hard,” the Fox Sports analyst and former minor leaguer continued. “But when you’re throwing the way he does, 90 can easily seem like 95 to 98, and I think that’s why he’s being effective.”

The league-average four-seamer is 93.2 mph, but Yarbrough’s fastball actually averaged 87.6 mph — in the bottom-one percentile — entering his start against the Angels on Monday. The 5-1 Yankees win saw the veteran, also armed with sinkers, sweepers, changeups and cutters all slower than MLB norms, total six innings, two hits, one earned run — a leadoff homer from Zach Neto – one walk and seven strikeouts over a season-high 88 pitches.

“I understand that velocity is a huge component, and I’ve never been a guy who’s thrown incredibly hard,” said Yarbrough, who deploys a 13-degree arm angle. “But it was one of those things where you just kind of show them you can really pitch.”

Ryan Yarbrough was IMMACULATE yet again tonight against the Angels, continuing his run of DOMINANCE in the Yankee rotation⚡️

6.0 IP | 2 H | 1 ER | 7 K | 1 BB | 88 P | 59 S

He’s posted a 2.25 ERA since being moved into the starting rotation🤩#Yankees pic.twitter.com/76K8o7olQK

— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) May 27, 2025

While not intimidating, Yarbrough has made the most of his junk-ball arsenal and off-putting mechanics, the products of childhood catch-play experiments with his dad.

A swingman throughout his career, he recently moved to the Yankees’ rotation. Monday was the 33-year-old’s fourth start of the season; he now has a 3.06 ERA overall and a 2.25 mark since joining the starting staff.

Yarbrough also ranked in the 99th percentile in average exit velocity (83.2 mph) and Hard-Hit% (24.7) prior to Monday. Not bad for a guy who signed for a guaranteed $2 million at the end of spring training.

“I look at him and think I wouldn’t have liked facing him,” Aaron Boone said. “He’s tall. He’s kind of elbows, knees and throwing everything at you in his delivery. There’s some deception to it. It’s obviously not overpowering, but it’s under what these guys are used to seeing.”

Now in his eighth big league season, Yarbrough has also pitched for his hometown Rays, the Royals, Dodgers and Blue Jays. With a unique look and soft stuff, he has made a career for himself at a time when baseball demands velocity.

Yarbrough first received attention at Santa Fe College, a JUCO in Gainesville, Florida. He parlayed his All-Conference performance there into a spot with Chris Finwood’s first recruiting class at Old Dominion.

“We were not very good,” the head coach said, “and just looking for everybody that was better than what we had.”

Now twig-like by pro athlete standards – the Yankees list Yarbrough at 6-5, 215 pounds – Finwood said the pitcher was “a little chunky” and “maybe a little not in the best shape” when he showed up in Norfolk, Virginia.

However, Finwood and Verlander recalled the tremendous work Yarbrough put in at Old Dominion’s gym before helping the school to an NCAA Regional as a senior in 2014.

“The first time I faced him, he was just this big old funky lefty that didn’t have the best of stuff. And within a year he was this big old funky lefty with really deceiving, really good stuff,” Verlander said. “He came in this big goofy guy and started transforming. I just remember it opening a lot of eyes.

“I’m not going to say he was ever the most shredded guy in the world, because I still don’t think he is, but he definitely transformed physically.”

Verlander added that few expected Yarbrough to become a big leaguer when his Old Dominion career began. Yarbrough didn’t think he had much of a shot either, but he said he committed himself to “working his tail off” and refined his “unorthodox” mechanics in an effort to maximize his body.

Chris Finwood

Ryan Yarbrough and Chris Finwood.

“At that point, it was just a matter of getting the opportunity and going with it,” Yarbrough said.

The Brewers originally drafted Yarbrough in the 20th round in 2013, but he didn’t turn pro until a year later when the Mariners used a fourth-round pick on him. He was then traded to the Rays in 2017.

In Tampa’s organization, he met his future big league pitching coach, Kyle Snyder, at Triple-A.

“I feel like I had a really good foundation at that point of who I was,” Yarbrough said. “And then when you get traded, especially to a place like Tampa, everyone tells you that’s a great place to be for development.”

With the pitching-savvy Rays unconcerned with Yarbrough’s velocity, he learned his cutter and how to attack big league batters with his change-of-pace repertoire. Yarbrough debuted in 2018 and stayed in Tampa through the 2022 season, sometimes working as a traditional starter, sometimes taking over after an opener.

Yarbrough recently remarked that he’s enjoyed being a starter again. While that may not last the rest of the season – the Yankees expect Luis Gil back from a lat strain this summer – he’s certainly ingratiated himself.

“It’s fun to watch him pitch,” Boone said. “He flips that sweeper up there like 68, 69, and it looks like a wiffle ball coming in there.”

Yarbrough is still making a strong impression at Old Dominion as well, where Finwood described him as a “throwback” and compared him to Jamie Moyer and Tom Glavine.

The coach uses Yarbrough as a shining example, telling his players — especially pitchers who don’t throw hard — that their wildest dreams are achievable.

“All these kids come here wanting to end up in his shoes,” Finwood said. “So we talk about a guy that maybe didn’t have the greatest physical gifts, and he’s still doing really well because he’s smart and competitive and has figured out how to win.

“I say this all the time: it’s called pitching, not throwing, and he’s a pitcher.”

Verlander agreed that Yarbrough can be a blueprint for young ballplayers.

He noted that Jose Altuve provides similar inspiration when it comes to height. He also added that Greg Maddux used to be the model for those who couldn’t light up a radar gun, though he made sure to say he wasn’t comparing Yarbrough to the pinpointing Hall of Famer.

“The game today chases velocity,” Verlander said. “It’s nice to see success from somebody that doesn’t throw 100, and Yarby doesn’t. I’m sure people look at him and say, ‘If I can be effective, if I can be a little funky or hit my spots, I can be a big leaguer.’”