Reyz of Hope: Eric Reyzelman forged breakout campaign in 2024

A version of this story appeared in the July issue of Renegades Magazine, which can be read here. It has been updated to reflect the end of the season.

The baseball journey of Eric Reyzelman has been far from easy. From Tommy John surgery as a teenager to missing nearly all of 2023 with a back injury, he faced his share of adversity in the game. As he battled injuries during many stages of his career, the right-handed pitcher has gained some valuable perspective.

“It feels good to be at a ballpark playing baseball,” Reyzelman said. “When I first got here, I was just ecstatic to be in a uniform, sitting in the bullpen talking to the guys. Two years removed from real games is not easy, so being out here is something I’ve never going to take for granted.”

This season, Reyzelman returned to the mound on May 28 to begin a rehab assignment with the FCL Yankees, pitching for the first time since August 4, 2023. After being drafted in the fifth round by the Yankees in 2022 out of LSU, the 23-year-old had appeared in just nine total games entering this season. Reyzelman spent all of 2023 on the 60-day injured list in Single-A.

After concluding his rehab assignment in early June, Reyzelman joined the Renegades on June 11, his first opportunity at the High-A level. He was outstanding as soon as he arrived, striking out 17 batters in 9.2 scoreless innings with Hudson Valley, allowing just two total hits. He earned a call-up to Double-A Somerset on July 2.

He continued his dominance with the Patriots, appearing in 21 games and posting a 1.93 ERA and striking out 37 batters in 23.1 innings. With a fastball in the upper 90s, a wipeout slider and devastating changeup in his arsenal, it isn't hard to imagine Reyzelman dominating the late innings of games in the Bronx as he did Minor League competition in 2024.

Returning from injury in 2024 certainly wasn’t the first time Reyzelman was forced to overcome a challenge. Growing up in Northern California, Reyzelman attended De La Salle High School, a powerhouse athletic program that has won dozens of regional and state championships across many sports. While Reyzelman was at De La Salle, the baseball team won four North Coast Section titles.

However, he was only a part of one of those championships. Reyzelman was cut from the varsity team every year until he was a senior.

“That molded me into the player I am now,” Reyzelman said. “It helped me overcome some of the other challenges I faced as well. Being on the brink of losing the game of baseball definitely changes your perspective on it. I attribute a lot of my success to the adversity I faced there.”

Reyzelman made the most of his senior year at De La Salle, earning a 0.55 ERA and an 8-0 record. This got the attention of the University of San Francisco, where Reyzelman began his college career in 2020, where more challenges emerged. Reyzelman was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery that March. Looking back, Reyzelman considers the timing of the rehab fortunate.

“I got really lucky when I had UCL reconstruction,” Reyzelman said. “It was right when COVID hit, so I had that year of recovery and that year of rehab. And it kind of got me to a place where I was really able to work on my stuff and develop in ways I hadn’t before. The rehab is a blessing in disguise for a lot of guys.”

After a disappointing season in 2021 at USF, Reyzelman traveled to Massachusetts in the summer to pitch for the Harwich Mariners of the prestigious wood bat Cape Cod Baseball League, a decision that would transform his career. A strong performance there built his confidence and caught the eyes of other colleges.

“That was the big first real turning point in my career,” Reyzelman said of his time in Harwich. “The opportunity to show that I could compete with those guys was awesome. I faced guys at a competition level that I’d never faced before. And my confidence was higher than it had ever been.”

Though he appeared in only five games, starting four, Reyzelman put himself on the map by posting a 2.66 ERA in 23.2 innings, striking out 36 batters, walking six, and allowing only 18 hits against some of the best college players in the nation.

Reyzelman leveraged that performance in the Cape into an opportunity to transfer to Louisiana State University in 2022, one of the premier college baseball programs in the country. He took full advantage of it, striking out 66 batters in 42.1 IP against top-level SEC competition. He fully embraced the culture shock that was moving from Northern California to the Bayou.

“I had never had any idea baseball would get me to that point,” Reyzelman said. “I remember watching them on TV, seeing [Alex] Bregman, seeing [Aaron] Nola, become big leaguers. For me, it was a fever dream. I enjoyed every second of it. The fans, the atmosphere, the city are awesome. The first thing you realize is that everyone you meet has such good intentions. They want to help you succeed and help you find ways to grow closer to the community.”

After his tremendous success with the Tigers, Reyzelman was drafted in the fifth round by the Yankees, a high pick for a relief pitcher. However, it was not long before where he faced his next hurdle. After a four-game debut in 2022, Reyzelman was experiencing a ton of pain in his back. It was discovered that he had a cyst on his back which ultimately sidelined him for the entire 2023 season and the beginning of 2024 as it required a series of three surgeries to fix.

While he lost time on the field, the injuries and his rehab allowed him to stay in the Yankees complex in Tampa and work on refining his changeup and slider into the weapons they became.

Finally healthy and feeling good in 2024, Reyzelman appears to have returned to the dominant form he showed at LSU. In 31 games across the three levels of the minors that he appeared he struck out 63 batters in 38.2 innings and had a 1.16 ERA. Finishing the year in Double-A, the right-hander is just two steps away from realizing his big league dreams.

“Everything takes time,” Reyzelman said. “Patience is the biggest lesson I’ve learned. You got to be where your feet are. For me, it took a while to get to that mindset. Once I did, it became easier, and I go day by day.”