Yankees’ nondrafted RHP Etheridge building on momentum in Arizona Fall League

New York Yankees nondrafted right-handed pitcher J.T. Etheridge is building strong momentum while pitching for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. Over his first three AFL outings, the 24-year-old struck out 13 batters across nine innings while limiting opponents to a .206 batting average. Etheridge signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent for a $70,000 bonus out of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Etheridge led all Yankees minor leaguers during the regular season with 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings across at least 60 frames with Single-A Tampa. In the AFL, he has focused on refining his splitter to give hitters a more reliable secondary offering, complementing a fastball that reaches up to 94.9 mph.