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SWB RailRiders feeding off Ben Gamel’s hot bat

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WVC grads in the pros: Wotherspoon back in Triple-A

<p>It&#8217;s safe to say that Tyler Webb is opening eyes in the Yankees organization.</p><p>Thanks to three seasons of putting up solid numbers on various levels of the minor leagues, RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said at the beginning of the season that the left-hander would be in a situation where the organization wants him to get stretched out in case New York needs pitching help.</p><p>So the 25-year-old started the 2016 campaign in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s bullpen, but knew he would be getting the ball every fifth day in a piggy-back situation with Nick Rumbelow.</p><p>When Rumbelow got hurt, the plan changed a bit as Webb was needed to be used as a reliever.</p><p>It took more than a month until Webb got back into the every-five-day routine. That&#8217;s when he joined the RailRiders rotation and became a starter for the first time since his sophomore year of college when he pitched for South Carolina.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a little different. Obviously, just going out there and airing it out for one inning or two and being ready to go maybe the next day or the day after (as a reliever),&#8221; Webb said. &#8220;Other than that, I try to keep the same mindset, just attack guys and last as long as I can. The only difference is you gotta keep your stuff going and try to figure out a way to keep all your pitches working cuz you&#8217;re gonna need them all when you go through the lineup a couple times.&#8221;</p><p>The second time going through a lineup is always an advantage for any hitter when facing an unknown pitcher. But Webb said there&#8217;s a way to make it advantageous for the hurler. And being a reliever helped in that role.</p><p>&#8220;I try to just keep it pitch-to-pitch and focus on that and just attack hitter after hitter,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It definitely helps having that reliever mentality.&#8221;</p><p>Webb got three starts with the RailRiders and was nearly unhitable in the first two while trying to get stretched out allowing just one run in 8 2/3 innings. He hit a speed bump in his third start allowing five runs in four innings against a potent Charlotte team.</p><p>Webb struggled a bit in his last long outing getting the ball after Connor Shreve&#8217;s rehab appearance and went 4 2/3 innings in a win over Columbus despite being hit with four runs.</p><p>He then pitched out of the &#8216;pen on Friday night, again on the fifth day, finishing the loss versus Gwinnett only needing to pitch 1 1/3 innings allowing one hit and one run as his ERA for the season rose to 3.62.</p><p>Webb&#8217;s now had better numbers in a relief role, but may prefer being in the rotation to get more opportunities after allowing a hit.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a little different because you know that you&#8217;re going to throw more pitches and that you&#8217;re going to have more of a chance to make mistakes (as a starter),&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think you&#8217;re not quite as hard on yourself. But the biggest thing is just don&#8217;t let that escalate.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">RailRiders pitcher Tyler Webb, who started the season in the RailRiders bullpen, has gotten a few looks as a starter this season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_rr_ck4_faacmyk-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>RailRiders pitcher Tyler Webb, who started the season in the RailRiders bullpen, has gotten a few looks as a starter this season. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Tyler Webb’s new move is to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rotation