Paul BlackburnNYY · RP

2026 review

Paul Blackburn was a bullpen arm whose results ran well ahead of his underlying skill: he posted a 1.69 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 85.0 IP for NYY across 62 games, with a 20.5 K% and a 9.8 BB% over 336 BF, picking up 7 W, 1 SV and 11 HLD after signing as a free agent Jan 15. Drafted at NFBC ADP rank 760, taken in just 8 of 674 drafts, he finished 170th of 1472 in the TDK LABS 5x5 value rank and 20th of 575 relievers. His 1.69 ERA ran 1.99 below his 3.68 xERA over 336 BF. The TDK LABS card tracked a climb in role: quiet on his Yankees role in early May, then by Aug 10 flagging the ERA as running ahead of the underlying numbers, by Aug 22 noting he was drawing bridge and high-leverage work with a hold streak pointing toward a setup rung, and by Sep 25 settling on him as a secondary setup reliever whose ERA outran the skill underneath it.