Paul Blackburn had posted a 5.28 ERA in 15.1 innings with the Yankees in 2025. The team, however, saw something in him, something that persuaded them to keep him around despite that ugly number. Then, 2026 came around. The right-hander alternated good and bad outings, but even at his worst, the Yankees were patient. And their patience is paying off big time now.
Blackburn is sporting an amazing 2.22 ERA in 48.2 frames with the Yanks this year, one of the most improved Yankees of the season. If we
zoom in closer, we see that his run since the start of June has been unbelievable, with a 1.11 ERA and a 60.3 percent groundball rate. Basically, Blackburn went from being on the roster bubble at one point to one of the most indispensable relievers in the organization. He is now an excellent multi-inning weapon for manager Aaron Boone, and even though the bullpen remains an area of focus ahead of the deadline, having Blackburn pitching like this allows the club to focus on other, more pressing needs.
Blackburn can throw seven pitches, but four of them are key to his success: the sinker, the cutter, the changeup, and the curveball. It just seems that every one of those four serves a specific purpose: the sinker helps him get that GB% up (it is, after all, 56.4 percent for the year as a whole, up from 43.8 percent in 2025), the cutter throws hitters off balance and forces them into weak contact (87th percentile 32.1 hard-hit rate), and the curveball and the changeup help him miss bats.
The curveball has a beautiful 45 percent whiff rate, an increase on the 38.5 percent he had last year with the offering. The changeup misses bats at a 28.6 percent rate, up from 26.2 percent in 2025.
Of course, the increase in velocity from year to year is of immense help. Blackburn’s sinker is averaging 94.2 mph this season, better than the 92.6 mph of 2025. Throw harder, and everything else will play up. Becoming a full-time reliever helps, that’s for sure. The Yankees have helped Blackburn reinvent himself and resurrect his career, and the pitcher is giving them a nice multi-inning option in their bullpen.
Sure, Blackburn’s 37/15 K/BB ratio isn’t really anything to write home about, but he limits the long ball (0.74 HR/9 in 2026) and doesn’t hurt himself with walks too often. He goes out there, throws strikes, and gets the job done almost every time he takes the mound. As you can see in the chart, Blackburn has actually improved his xwOBA against every year since 2024, until reaching a very solid .291 in 2026.
I can’t say I’m not surprised to watch him enjoy this kind of success. We all knew there was some talent in his right arm, but probably not to this extent. Sit back and enjoy the ride while it lasts, but even though he probably won’t finish the season with an ERA in the low 2.00s, the foundation is there to make this the new norm: Blackburn is probably here to stay as a reliable MLB reliever.
