Newly promoted WooSox pitcher experimented with ‘ghost changeup’ while also hitting triple digits
Red Sox minor league pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn has been dominating opposing lineups while on the mound for the Portland Sea Dogs.
Zeferjahn has been electric hitting triple digits on the radar gun and striking out 22 batters with just three walks while allowing no runs through 13 2/3 innings this season.
His strong performance has earned him a promotion to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, according to MassLive’s Christopher Smith.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound right-hander’s numbers have been impressive, posting a 14.49 K/9 with a 0.73 FIP and stranding 83.3% of runners on base.
Zeferjahn credits his impressive start to focusing on his mechanics, throwing the ball in the zone, and getting strikes. He throws a four-seam fastball, sweeper, and what he considers a cutter-slider mix.
Last season, the hard-throwing righty experimented with a different pitch he named a “ghost changeup.”
“I’ve kind of gone away from it,” said Zeferjahn on the To the Show We Go podcast.
“I threw a couple of different changeups in college and my first year of pro ball, just kind of trying to find something that worked. I think last year into this year, I just threw a change up so that it looked like it moved. But when you get the numbers back, it really didn’t move. It just stayed, or it either went up on the numbers or stayed straight, but they swung through it. I just ended up calling it the ghost change because it just disappeared out of nowhere,” added the Kansas native.
According to his SoxProspects scouting report, Zeferjahn’s changeup sits between 81 and 83 mph, and he “throws with deceptive arm speed and has good separation from his fastball. Has a splitter-like, late drop. Shows confidence in pitch.” His changeup has primarily been used against left-handed hitters.
“When it comes to playing catch and stuff, I kind of mess around and yell the names of my pitches and stuff like that to make it fun,” said Zeferjahn.
He added, ”I am kind of an easy going guy and have some fun with it no matter what I’m doing. I came up with the ghost change and kind of got in a little trouble throwing in games with coaches and, you know, coordinators because, you know, it's not a pitch that's going to get me going in the future. But, you know, sometimes you got to have fun with it.”
While he had fun throwing his ghost changeup, Zeferrjahn’s four-seam fastball is his bread and butter offering. He topped out at 101 mph against Reading this season. His heater velocity sits anywhere between 97 and 98 mph. With his fastball dominating the zone, he keeps hitters off-balance with his breaking balls, utilizing his cutter and slider earlier on against hitters, primarily lefties.
