Catching up with Mets №16 prospect Ryley Gilliam
“Join the Army and See the World.”
The 2019 Ryley Gilliam Tour rocked its way throughout the Mets organization last season. A few nights in St. Lucie, 12 dates in Binghamton, and a five-city tour in Triple-A.
It was enough to make him a rock star, and enough to force Mets fans to put him on the big league bullpen radar for 2020.
Ryley began his professional career on Coney Island in 2018 after being selected in the fifth round out of Clemson. Known for having a mid-90s fastball and, as the kids say, a hammer of a curveball, Gilliam enjoyed a peaceful transition from the ACC to MiLB.
However, 2019 progressed a bit differently. He pitched in Advanced-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. For a sophomore, he flew through the system and pushed up to the 16th prospect in the Mets organization according to MLB Pipeline.
“Not that a fifth-round pick isn’t a high pick,” Gilliam said. “But I definitely did not expect to move up as quickly as I did.”
Usually the first and second round picks of the world are the ones puddle-jumping. Despite his draft status, the Mets loved his stuff enough to, as he called it, push him.
“I wouldn’t say it was harder as I moved up,” Gilliam said. “Just more challenging.”
He zipped through Advanced-A St. Lucie in April, striking out 16 poor souls in 10.2 innings. Binghamton was next on the checklist. Ryley spent the majority of his summer with the RumblePonies, pitching in a dozen games. He gassed the Eastern League as well, fanning 28 over 18.2 innings — not bad for a 23-year-old, second-year pro dealing with the fast track.
“Everyone around me was so surprised at how young I was,” he said. “It was super cool to be in that position.”
Then came the big Kahuna. Ryley was called to Triple-A Syracuse in early June, where the taste of big league spreads and five-star hotels are just one phone call away.
“That’s when I started trying to press a little too much,” Gilliam said.
According to him, his curveball hung up too much to fool the International League. His ERA, runs, hits, and walks allowed all tell the story. He just didn’t pitch well and ended up dealing with injury. Forcing things, overthrowing, and potentially the gravity of the moment got to him. Following his last outing with the Syracuse Mets on July 7, he traveled back to St. Lucie to get healthy again.
Luckily, the Arizona Fall League still happened for him when he returned to full health. He participated in one of the most prestigious leagues in baseball — a post-season league for prospects. Once again, the Georgia native pitched like a dude. Gilliam posted a 0.96 ERA over nine outings, striking out 11 over 9.1 innings. The message was sent: he’s okay and he’s ready to dominate in 2020.
“This season I’m really going to be focusing on being conscious and in the moment,” he said. “I’m not trying to think too far ahead.”
Between now and his report date to Spring Training in early February, Gilliam spends his time helping to coach a travel team near his hometown. He’s also working out four times a week (with the likes of Seth Beer, Tyler Stephenson, and Kevin Smith just to name a few) and slamming Chipotle — a favorite of any minor leaguer.
For his tour to continue in 2020, Gilliam will hone in on tunneling. He’s a two-pitch pitcher for the foreseeable future which simplifies his mechanics. With tunneling, he’ll need his fastball and curveball to look like the same pitch from the same release point towards the batter.
At full health and a strong mental framework for the bigtime, Gilliam should be a lock to start the season with Triple-A Syracuse. Look forward to some tour dates at Citi Field in 2020.
