Conversations with the Herd: Ryan Jennings

By: Brian Frank

Bisons reliver Ryan Jennings was raised in New Braunfels, Texas, just outside of San Antonio. Even though he was a good distance from Arlington, about a four hour drive, he grew up as a Texas Rangers fan.

“A lot of my family is from Dallas,” Jennings said in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles. “My dad and mom grew up there, so we kind of grew up Rangers and Cowboys fans.” He then added with a chuckle, “But being from San Antonio, I wasn't a Mavs fan, I was a Spurs fan.”

After graduating from Smithson Valley High School, where he was an All-State pitcher, Jennings attended Wharton Junior College in Wharton, Texas.

“The grind of it was the highlight,” he said of his time at Wharton. “It was almost pure baseball. You're in a 10 by 10 room with another guy sleeping on a twin bed, sharing a bathroom with three dudes and showing up to the field, spending hours at the field, lifting. It was just a grind – I mean, that was a high. That's what I loved about it.”

Firing a pitch in downtown Buffalo. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Jennings played two seasons at Wharton and then attended Louisiana Tech University, where he played two seasons for the Bulldogs. He posted a 4.48 ERA in 84 1/3 innings pitched during his freshman year. His sophomore season, he had a 3.59 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings pitched and helped lead the Bulldogs to a Conference USA Tournament championship, which advanced them into the NCAA tournament. Louisiana Tech won the C-USA tournament in the final inning of the final game against the University of Texas at San Antonio, giving the Bulldogs their first postseason conference title in 35 years.

“It was magical,” Jennings said of the Bulldogs’ postseason run. “I mean, a lot of my best memories are from Louisiana Tech and being around those guys. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. It was awesome, especially watching Steele Netterville hit a walk-off single for us to win the tournament, it was unbelievable.”

Jennings was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth round of the 2022 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft.

“I was at home with my family,” Jennings said of the moment he was selected. “They threw a small draft party, just my immediate family. My agent had messaged me, and we were kind of expecting (to be selected by) Texas. They told us that they were going to draft me in their next round with their next pick – and then the Blue Jays came calling. Honestly, at the moment, we were all kind of like, oh dang – I grew up a Texas fan, they were the next pick, they were going to take me, and then Toronto called. We were like, that's the furthest team away, furthest everything. Initially it was kind of like – oh, crap. But as the journey started, the Blue Jays have been the best fit for me, all the way up and down from the player development to strength and conditioning, everything. It's been a great experience.”

Jennings reported to the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto’s Low-A affiliate, where he had a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 innings pitched to begin his professional baseball career.

“There really wasn't much of an adjustment from there,” he said of his first pro season. “The biggest adjustment was the next year where you had to get ready for the grind of 100-plus games. That short season, it was just like playing college ball again. I would eventually learn that pro ball is nothing like college ball the following year. But that short season, it was fun just to get out there, kind of get around some new faces and be a professional athlete for the first time.”

The next season, he started at Dunedin, where he had a 4.36 ERA in nine game (seven starts). He was then promoted to High-A Vancouver in mid-June to pitch for a Canadians team battling for the Northwest League title.

“It was a long season,” he remembered. “I mean, the first season is always the longest, just because you're used to playing 50 some odd games, now you’ve got to go play 130.”

Unfortunately, after just two starts in Vancouver, he injured his right elbow. He didn’t pitch again until September, when he rejoined the Canadians in time to help them win the Northwest League title. After pitching in one regular season game, Jennings took the mound to start game four of the best-of-five Northwest League Finals with Vancouver leading the series two games to one.

“Really cool,” he said of starting the final game. “A golden opportunity, getting to come back and pitch for the guys. It was fun. I mean, you can't really complain about getting to pitch in a championship game like that. It was fun just to get to be there.”

Jennings fired three hitless innings, striking out five and walking one, to set the tone for the night. Vancouver went on to win the game 10-2 and secure their fifth league title.

“Finishing that season with the championship was really fun,” he said. “You can't really match the atmosphere of Vancouver either. Vancouver is an amazing place. The fans come out and support you every day. They made it really fun to play – and then to reward them with the championship was even better.”

Jennings moved to the bullpen during the 2024 season. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Last season, Jennings had a 2.13 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 11 starts (50 2/3 IP) at Vancouver before being promoted to Double-A New Hampshire in early July. It was at New Hampshire that he transitioned from being a full-time starter to coming out of the bullpen.

“We dealt with a few injuries here and there as a starter,” he explained. “I talked with the coordinators and they said you can either go down to Florida on rehab and build up as a starter, or you can just finish the season out in the bullpen and see where it takes you. I chose the other route, to go to the bullpen, just because no one wants to go down and spend time in rehab. So, I decided on that route. We had a conversation later on in the year about it and I told him I didn't really care what the role was, my goal was to get to the big leagues as soon as possible. It's not to try and be the best starter we have and wait in line, it’s to get going, you know? And they said that the best route for us right now is in the bullpen, so I took the opportunity and I’m trying to make the most of it.”

Jennings adjusted quickly to his new role. In 10 games with Fisher Cats, he had a 0.90 ERA, fanning 12 batters in 10 innings pitched.

“It's been an adjustment,” he said. “You pick and choose your daily routine and how you want to go about it. You kind of have an idea on when you're going to throw in a game. Everyone's got a different role, whether it's early, long, short, or back end. So, each day you kind of have an idea of where you're going to throw. Getting used to that – we're still working on it, getting the body ready for the next day. You know, throw one day and be ready to go the next day. Been able to do that once this year so far. So, just getting used to that routine, getting my body in a prime position to go every day.”

In order to make up for the innings he lost due to injury, he reported to Scottsdale, Arizona when New Hampshire’s season ended to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. He was dominant coming out of the Scottsdale Scorpions’ bullpen, and didn’t allow a run in 10 innings pitched, striking out 14 batters, while allowing only five hits and four walks.

“That was really cool,” he recalled. “I mean, Arizona is beautiful. I got to go up to Sedona one time as well. It's an amazing place up there. But, you're around a whole bunch of really good baseball players and a lot of good baseball there. So, it was fun to get to be there around those guys, hear some different stories from different organizations. It was an awesome experience.”

Jennings began this season at New Hampshire, where he continued to show his potential as a reliever. In 22 innings pitched out of the Fisher Cats’ bullpen, Jennings recorded 28 strikeouts and posted a 2.86 ERA. He was then promoted to Buffalo in mid-May to make his Triple-A debut.

“These guys are really good, he said of facing Triple-A hitters, “They all have approaches too. I like to think of Triple-A as kind of the waiting line for the big leagues. You're almost just waiting for an opportunity to open up.”

“The hitters up here are really good,” he continued. “You’ve got to be sharp with your stuff. If you make a mistake, they're going to hit it. I had one last week, a 2-and-0 fastball down the middle, and it was sent to the wall to score everyone that was on base. You’ve got to choose your battles wisely, for sure. But if you let up on the gas against these guys, whether it's one or nine or anywhere in between, they're going to make you pay for it. So, just staying sharp pitch to pitch and not giving anything up.”

Currently rated as the Blue Jays number nineteen prospect by MLB Pipeline, the 25-year-old Jennings uses a four pitch mix on the mound. His arsenal hasn’t changed since transitioning to a relief role, although he sometimes finds it more difficult to use all his pitches out of the bullpen.

“Fastball, slider, curveball and change - it's kind of a split now,” he said of his four-pitch mix. “It kind of depends day to day when you ask me which one, curveball or slider, is the go-to. It kind of depends on the hitter, but also what I'm feeling that day. Unfortunately, each day, one's either better than the other, but one out of every 10 chances, they're both working. Those days are the ones you kind of work for. Just trying to use them all evenly, as much as I can, kind of keep it an even mix. It's hard in the bullpen to really use four pitches in one inning. Sometimes you have an eight-pitch inning and sometimes you have a 20-pitch inning. But regardless, it's really tough to work them all in – but it's nice to have all of them.”