The Rockaway Wave
Originally Published July 19, 2024
Ryan Ammons was drafted by the Boston Red Sox, but he never played a game in a Red Sox uniform. Not just a major league game — even a minor league one.
“Definitely a little interesting,” Ammons said. “But I guess the Mets saw something and wanted to take a chance, and I’m super appreciative of it.”
Ammons was selected by the Sox in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Clemson University. He had a successful career as a Tiger, throwing 51 and ⅔ innings in his collegiate career with a 4.35 ERA, primarily out of the bullpen. He was often times used as the closer, picking up 13 saves over his final two seasons including one in the ACC tournament which Clemson would go on to win.
Going to Clemson, and achieving what he did, was a dream come true for Ammons who grew up less than an hour down the road.
“My family graduated from there, all three of them, my mom, dad and brother, so I always knew I wanted to play for them,” Ammons said. “It was a childhood dream to be able to fulfill that and be a part of something so special there at Clemson. It was definitely special to me and my family.”
Ammons didn’t pitch for a Red Sox minor league affiliate following the draft like some players do because he was dealing with an injury, pushing his professional baseball debut back to 2024.
Then, on December 6, he was traded. The New York Mets selected Justin Slaten, a relief pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization, in the Rule 5 Draft and promptly traded him to Boston. Ammons, just under five months removed from being drafted, was the return heading back to Queens.
“Definitely something I wasn’t expecting,” Ammons said. “But I’m super grateful for the opportunity that the Red Sox gave me … and then super grateful for the opportunity the Mets are giving me right now to be able to come over here and meet all these great people and be a part of something special here with the Mets.”
Ammons made his professional baseball debut with Single-A St. Lucie and pitched well for the two-plus months he was there. In 18 games, Ammons threw 25 innings with a 2.88 ERA, striking out 35 and walking 19.
Ammons has always been a high-strikeout arm, punching out 75 batters in college in his 51 and ⅔ innings. His K/9 is 14th among all 81 Mets full-season minor leaguers with at least 10 innings pitched and 9th in that group among players who have not pitched in the big leagues this season.
Daniel McKinney, Brooklyn’s pitching coach, said Ammons’ fastball plays well and has good ride to it which is part of what helps him miss bats so effectively.
“And the secondaries play really well off that fastball,” McKinney said. “The split is kind of still developing, but it’s showing some big-time potential as a swing-and-miss option. He’s got different ways he can attack both hands, and he’s got a good fastball.”
He throws a four-seam fastball, splitter and slider, and McKinney said he can throw all three pitches effectively to both lefties and righties.
Gilbert Gómez, Brooklyn’s manager, said the ability for a left-handed pitcher to get results with a split-change versus left-handed batters like Ammons does isn’t something you see very often.
“The slider plays, the fastball plays, and then the changeup that he can throw to a lefty — lefties are not usually expecting that pitch,” Gómez said.
Ammons was a little less bullish on throwing his splitter to lefties.
“Fastball-slider-splitter to righties; fastball-slider to lefties,” Ammons said. “Something I’ve gotten really familiar with this year is being able to attack with all three pitches in any count, so just being able to execute those pitches in certain counts has been super helpful for my development.”
Randy Thompson, Ammons’ coach at Wren High School in Piedmont, South Carolina, said his change was his strongest pitch back then.
“And it’s still his wipe-out pitch,” Thompson said. “His changeup is freakishly good. He’s had a big league changeup since he was in about the 10th grade probably. His dad never let him throw a breaking ball until he turned 15 years old, I think. And so he had to pitch off of two pitches, fastball and changeup. His fastball wasn’t great when he was younger, so he had to figure out how to get people out. So his changeup became his pitch.”
Ammons said the Mets have him focusing on his secondary stuff since he joined the organization.
“Working on some stuff on my slider and then basically retuning the splitter, just kind of finding it after not throwing for so long,” Ammons said. “It’s a feel pitch, so getting that feel back and trying new things with it.”
He was promoted to Brooklyn to begin July and made two appearances before the All-Star break. So far for the Cyclones, Ammons has thrown three innings allowing one hit, one run and three walks while striking out five.
After his Cyclones debut, McKinney said he was impressed by Ammons’ makeup and attitude on the mound.
“He’s a competitor. He’s a bulldog, man,” McKinney said. “He goes right at guys, he’s pretty fearless. He’s an animal on the mound. Obviously he’s got good stuff too, but I think what stands out about him is him just being a bulldog out there.”
That attitude was the first thing Thompson brought up when talking about him.
“Heart. Determination. Don’t take no for an answer,” Thompson said. “If you could go and design a player that you wanted playing for you, he would be at the top of the list.”
Thompson remembers the first game Ammons ever pitched for the Varsity team, when he took “an absolute bullet” of a comebacker right off his femur.
“It sounded like a rocket going off,” Thompson said.
He runs out to the mound thinking he’s shattered his leg, but it turns out it’s luckily not broken. Ammons, 14, and obviously in a lot of pain, then he lifts his head up and says “Coach, is it alright if I stay in the game?”
“If you can stay in the game, I would love to have you stay in,” Thompson said to him.
That, Thompson said, is when he learned what he had in Ammons — a bulldog.
Ammons still takes that mentality to the mound today. He wants to dominate the strike zone.
“I want to be on the attack 24/7,” Ammons said. “I want to be able to put the ball in the zone as much as possible and just be able to give my team a chance to win every time I go out there.”
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