Eric Reyzelman: Thriving On The Road Less Traveled

Bridgewater, New Jersey – Often times in life, it takes losing or not having something you care deeply for to realize how much you cherish and love it. Somerset right-hander Eric Reyzelman grew up with a strong passion for baseball and on more than one occasion on his long and winding road to the Patriots bullpen has had to work and grind to find his way back to the game.

Reyzelman, who has been one of the most dominant relief arms in the Yankees system this season with a 1.23 ERA and 60 punchouts over just 36.2 innings of work, was actually cut from the high school baseball team on more than one occasion in his native state of California. Most aspiring players would walk away, his parents even pushed him in that direction, but the desire to make it as a ballplayer was something that won out.

“I didn’t realize how competitive the school that I went to was going to be,” admitted Reyzelman. “I chose to go there because of the baseball program and how good of a reputation that they had. I just kind of wasn’t prepared and was also a late bloomer physically. Really didn’t develop, really didn’t get tall or get any strength in me until my junior and senior year.”

Reyzelman added, “I had to go through a point when I got cut that junior year that [my parents] had sat me down and told me that it was time to hang it up and focus on school; get into a good college and go and have a good career. I just had this feeling that I wasn’t done with baseball yet and couldn’t hang it up.”

Some paths to reaching a goal are generic and well-traveled while others are unique and distinct. Reyzelman definitely has navigated down the latter to attain the success he has craved since he was a young boy watching his childhood hero Tim Lincecum dominate for his favorite ball club, the San Francisco Giants.

“I found a travel ball team that helped some guys that were getting cut from their local high school teams,” explained Reyzelman. “We just played a game on Friday nights against each other at our local park. That’s what I had to do, and I enjoyed the heck out of it and without even realizing it, I started working harder and harder. My body got more developed and got stronger, I started throwing the ball harder and that’s kind of just how it goes. I was able to commit to the University of San Francisco that summer going into my senior year and things kind of went from there.”

Reyzelman added, “I ended up committing to playing Division 1 baseball before playing JV or varsity baseball, which I know is a rare path, but it’s just how it goes for some people. I think if I didn’t have to go through those experiences and find ways to continue playing the game on my own and really grow the love for the game.”

After a stellar senior season at De La Salle High School in which he went 8-0 with a 0.55 ERA as a reliever, the San Ramon-native had finally established himself after being cut from the squad in back-to-back seasons. The reward was a spot pitching at Division 1 San Francisco the following spring.

“Getting to college and playing college baseball is something that I never even realized was possible in the first place,” Reyzelman said. “I used to be that kid that would be researching Division 3 schools that maybe I would have a realistic chance at, but I had to hide my laptop a little bit because I was that kid that got cut. I didn’t want people to see that was something that I was looking at, so I had to do it behind the scenes. As time went on, I realized every year that I got closer and closer to understanding that baseball could be a thing that takes me a little bit farther into life than I thought.”

As Reyzelman had already found out though, the road you choose to trek doesn’t always come without unforeseen bumps along the way. The right-hander pitched in just five games for the Dons before undergoing Tommy John surgery that cut short his 2020 campaign.

After having UCL reconstruction, Reyzelman was able to return to SF for a portion of the 2021 season, but the results were a mixed bag as he struggled to establish his once consistent command in his return from surgery. Reyzelman issued 30 walks and plunked another 10 on his way to posting a 6.17 ERA over 10 appearances.

“In college when I had started out there, I wasn’t the biggest kid and wasn’t the strongest and didn’t throw the hardest at all, but those things kind of came,” said Reyzelman. “I want to say my freshman and sophomore year, number-wise, I just didn’t know how to pitch. I was a thrower not a pitcher and was trying to just get out of every inning instead of getting guys out.”

Reyzelman went to the Cape Cod league in the summer of ‘21 and reestablished himself both physically and mentally. He fanned 38 batters in 27 frames en route to earning an appearance in the league’s All-Star Game. On the heels of that impressive showing, Reyzelman entered the NCAA transfer portal and landed in Baton Rouge as part of the prestigious LSU baseball program. It’s a decision that he believes have allowed his professional dreams to become a reality.

“The University of San Francisco – I am really grateful that I was able to get the opportunity to play Division 1 baseball there. It opened up the door for me, but until I made that jump and got to work with my pitching coach at LSU and the coaches in the Cape, I was a completely different pitcher from 2020 at San Francisco, ‘21 at San Francisco to ‘22 at LSU and I am a totally different pitcher now than I was at LSU.”

“I was a guy that came in certain situations and threw 15 fastballs and then sat down,” added Reyzelman. “That’s something that I’m not anymore and it’s something I am really proud of the work that I have been able to do with our development staff here; they are second to none and I wouldn’t change anything.”

The Yankees have a sixth sense for finding Reyzelman-types; their player development system is well-known for their ability to draft and develop high-ceiling relievers. After striking out 66 batters in 42 frames for the Tigers in 2022, the Bombers used their fifth-round draft selection on Reyzelman. From twice cut in high school and Tommy John surgery in college to being drafted by the most revered franchise in professional sports in a four-year span is the ultimate redemption story. But somehow, the story isn’t over there.

Shortly after putting pen to paper and signing with the Yankees, Reyzelman made his pro-debut and wrapped his 2022 campaign by finishing with High-A Tampa. He posted a 6.75 ERA in four innings between stints in the FCL and with the Tarpons and as painful as the back of his baseball card looked, the physical pain that Reyzelman was feeling by seasons end was far more severe.

“It was back pain right after I had gotten drafted. I finished out the year with the Tarpons but then that back pain kind of started to set in,” said Reyzelman. “It was a really big point of frustration because injuries that you understand, like a torn UCL, you get UCL reconstruction surgery, you have the timeline and understand what the recovery is. With what I had, it wasn’t that simple, so we tried to find things that worked to try and get around that pain when I was throwing. It was such a work in progress and took so much time and then in September or October of last year I started feeling better but then came the offseason and I found a cyst on my lower back and that took three surgeries to fix.”

Reyzelman added, “It was definitely tough to hear and tough to see. I was crushed because I had been working really hard and I understood that I wasn’t going to get 2023 and all I wanted was 2024.”

After finally getting the cyst removed and being able to get his body to a point where he could resume a normal regiment, another bump was waiting for Reyzelman on his long and winding baseball journey. After looking forward to the 2024 campaign for nearly a year, that too fell into serious doubt this past winter.

“I wanted to get healthy for this season and it just didn’t happen that way – I had surgery in October and a couple of months later as I was ramping up and feeling healthy, my surgical site got infected, and I had to fly back home and get another surgery. I had a third surgery at the end of January and that kind of cemented that I was going to miss about half the year this year.”

Reyzelman added, “The blessing in disguise was that I had that much more time in Tampa to work on the change-up and work on the slider and it just makes me that much prouder seeing it now in the games at this level of competition doing its job.”

The better part of the spring for Reyzelman was spent in Tampa building up after pitching in just 11.2 innings of lower-level ball over the first two seasons of his career. Precious development time was lost, no doubt, but the ability to finally feel healthy and the mental power to be able to pitch without reservation has finally allowed Reyzelman to fulfill his promise as a trusted leverage reliever.

“I feel like a million bucks right now, this is awesome,” Reyzelman said. “I have the most confidence in myself when I get on the mound, so having two years off of the mound is something that I hadn’t dealt with before. It took me a while to remember that I am able to do what I am able to do, and I am able to get guys out and strike guys out. It’s gone fast but at the same time, I understand that I belong and it’s a level that doesn’t fail to surprise me.”

Reyzelman made his long awaited 2024 full-season debut at High-A Hudson Valley on June 12 and before the calendar had turned its way to July, he had held the opposition to a .065 batting average which prompted the organization to promote him to Double-A. The 6’2” hurler, who features a fastball that sits 95-99 MPH to go along with a strong change-up and slider in his arsenal, has held Eastern League opposition to a mere .173 average while fanning 37 batters in 22.1 innings for the Patriots in games played through 9/13.

“I like to think of myself as an old school pitcher,” explained Reyzelman. “My goal out there every time is to not let anybody cross home plate. It doesn’t matter what situation I am put in; I am just not allowing runs. I don’t let it happen and when it does happen I sure as hell make sure it doesn’t happen the next time I am out there. I take it very personally when I don’t do my job so it’s super important for me to trust in the work that I have done.”

Reyzelman concluded, “I went to my first Yankees game about three or four weeks ago on a Monday off day and being in that stadium – I had to sit down and take it in for a second. I was shocked that I am technically only two levels away, some guys are a phone call away and it’s definitely a big thing to let that sink in for me.”

While we have talked about that long and less-traveled bumpy road that Reyzelman has navigated, his ultimate destination of 1 East 61^st Street in the Bronx is now clearly visible and feels not all that far away.

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Senior Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 12th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.