The Yankees are heading into a winter where the bullpen picture already looks thin, and one of the more intriguing answers might be a right-hander who does things the old-school teaching says not to do.
New York has work to do after its early October exit against Tampa Bay. John Schreiber, who was claimed off waivers from Kansas City on Aug. 31, is set for free agency. Fernando Cruz was diagnosed in late August with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, and he said, “We’re looking at options,” after seeking a second opinion instead of immediately moving toward surgery.
That leaves the Yankees searching for right-handed relief help, whether through the market or from within. And one of the organization’s more unusual internal arms is Chris Veach, a 24-year-old from Chapin, South Carolina, whose best pitch is the one he throws the most.
Veach leans on his changeup close to 60 percent of the time, a rare profile for any pitcher and especially for one trying to climb the ladder. The fastball is not the pitch that carries him. The changeup does.
He didn’t arrive with much draft buzz, either. Veach was not selected in the 2024 MLB Draft after starting at Presbyterian as a two-way player, where he hit .344 mostly at second base.
He later transferred to South Carolina, became the Gamecocks’ closer and continued to build his game around the changeup. The Yankees signed him as an undrafted free agent on Aug. 4, 2024, for $100,000.
Since then, he has done exactly what teams hope an overlooked arm can do: miss bats. Veach posted a 2.53 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 57 innings at Single-A Tampa in 2025, then opened this season with 11 straight scoreless appearances for High-A Hudson Valley before moving up to Double-A Somerset on May 19.
Across those two levels, he went 3-2 with three saves, a 1.86 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP in 25 games. He struck out 39 and allowed only 14 hits in 29 innings.
The path wasn’t smooth, though. Somerset put him on the injured list June 14, and he didn’t return until Aug.
- He finished the regular season back in Double-A and then joined the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League.
The stuff is unusual enough to stand out. Veach’s changeup sits in the high 70s to around 80 mph, with heavy arm-side fade and drop, while his fastball sits in the low 90s. That separation, coming from the same arm slot, is what makes the pitch play.
Keith Law of The Athletic called Veach a pitcher of interest this month, pointing to a 91-92 mph fastball, a plus changeup and excellent arm speed. Law also offered a dose of caution. “Pitchers can dominate A ball with a good changeup,” he wrote.
He added that he had seen Veach pitch once, when Veach faced six batters, struck out three, walked two and hit the last man he faced. “So don’t get too excited yet,” Law wrote.
Anthony Ranaudo, in a piece on Yankees minor leaguers who could help in 2027, also singled out the appeal of Veach’s approach. “As a former pitcher, I always have a level of respect for guys who pitch backwards off of a change-up,” Ranaudo wrote.
The numbers tell the same story, with a warning label attached. Veach’s 2026 line translates to 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.3 hits per nine, but he also walked 10 in 29 innings, or 3.1 per nine.
His walk rate sat just under 12 percent in 2025. A pitcher who lives on a changeup has less margin for error when he falls behind, because that’s when he has to lean on the fastball he’d rather not feature.
There’s also a roster clock ticking. Under Rule 5 timelines, a college player signed in 2024 becomes eligible for the December 2027 draft unless the Yankees add him to the 40-man roster. That makes next season a key one for both Veach and the front office.
For now, he’s in Arizona, still throwing the pitch most coaches would rather see less often. And with Schreiber headed to free agency and Cruz facing a long recovery, the Yankees may need a right-handed answer sooner than they’d like. Veach has put himself on that list.
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