Growing up outside Albany, New York, Danny Watson was a New York Yankees fan. He told the Albany Times-Union in an interview that his entire room ”was decked out in Yankee gear.”
So you can imagine what it was like when the Yankees fulfilled his childhood dream and selected him in the 15th round (453rd overall) in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Virginia Commonwealth University.
“It definitely was a surreal moment I had with my family,” Watson said. “You work so hard and then following the Yankees my entire life. My family have always been Yankees fans. It was really cool to see my name up on the board. Definitely a surreal moment that I’ll cherish.”
Watson has many good memories of going to Yankees games with his family. His favorite players were Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and he] got the chance to meet Rivera in 2024 when he was invited to accompany the team on its two-game exhibition series in Mexico against the Diablos Rojos del México.
It is often said to never meet your heroes, you’ll only be disappointed. But Watson said that wasn’t the case. “Mariano Rivera was in the clubhouse, so I got to talk to him a little bit and then he was at the dinner the next night,” Watson said. “So it was really cool to spend some time talking with him. It definitely was an oh-my-gosh moment.”
Working his way through the Yankees system, Watson spent the past two seasons at Double-A Somerset. This season, he is with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and one step away from pitching in the major leagues for his favorite team as a child. In 16 games with the RailRiders, Watson is 3-2 with a 2.96 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. In his last six relief outings, he has given up just three unearned runs.
“I feel like it’s been pretty solid,” Watson said. “I feel like I’m throwing the ball well, throwing my pitches where I want to. My body’s feeling good, velo is trending up. So I feel like I’m in a really good spot to keep things rolling.”
Most of Watson’s appearances have been out of the bullpen. He did make one spot start May 3rd against the Buffalo Bisons. He also has one hold and recorded a save March 29th at Buffalo.
“They do a good job here of giving everybody all different kinds of roles,” Watson said. “One game you can be the closer, the next game you can be the long relief guy in the fourth, fifth inning. Our pitching coaches do a really good job of giving us the experience of every little bit of that we could experience in the big leagues. So if we do get that call to the big leagues, we’re better prepared. So we don’t have set roles, but I’m able to get experience doing a little bit of everything so I’m more diversified when I finally get the call up to the big leagues.”
Watson has a unique delivery. When he comes to the set position, he’s all crooked with his back facing the hitter. Also, he throws sidearm. “There’s no other pitchers who throw like I do,” he said. “I feel like that helps with deception.”
July 2022 was when Watson dropped his arm slot. Then during spring training in 2023 he changed how he set up and started with his back to the hitter.
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“In 2022, it was a hard adjustment. I would have liked to been able to adjust to it faster,” he said. “But I was able to work through it in the offseason. I feel like that’s why I had so much success in 2023 because I was finally able to put all the new stuff to work in the offseason and make it feel comfortable.”
At High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2023, Watson was a combined 7-1 with a 1.58 ERA, seven holds and five saves in 45 relief appearances. He struck out 82 in 62.2 innings. According to MiLB.com, he posted the best ERA among minor leaguers with at least 60 innings pitched and ranked third in opponents’ batting average (.138) and WHIP (0.88).
Toward the end of last season, Watson added a curveball to his arsenal. He continues to work on it and feels it has contributed to his success this season. He also focuses on his getting his fastball vertical break higher and throwing strikes.
“How I throw is completely unique so I can exploit that a little more with getting higher vert on the fastball,” Watson said. “It makes everything else look a little bit better.”
One of the strengths of this year’s RailRiders team is its bullpen. Watson said it has been fun to be part of the dynamic.
“Everybody’s throwing super well, so it only makes me better and pushes me to be better,” Watson said. “Everyone has good character, is a good teammate. It’s really cool to be around these guys. If I hit my pitch count and have a runner on, you trust that (next) guy fully to get out of that situation. It’s been a really cool experience to be a part of this group of guys and I’m super excited to see where it takes us all.”
If and when that call to the major leagues comes, Watson feels he is ready. He likes being in pressure situations and thinks he can thrive in that environment.
Being a Yankees fan growing up, he imagined what it would be like to one day pitch for them.
“It will be a really cool experience to be there, soak it all in,” Watson said. “But when the game starts and I’m on the mound, it will feel like the same game I’ve played for my entire life.”
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