Brent Headrick isn’t the first New York Yankees player you’d think of as someone who would lead all of Major League Baseball in any stat.
But right now, that’s exactly what the left-handed relief pitcher is doing in the Bronx.
Headrick leads MLB in inherited runners stranded — any runner that is already on base when he enters out of the bullpen that he prevents from scoring.
Headrick has now stranded 43 runners this season, according to Baseball Reference’s Katie Sharp after Friday night’s Yankees win over the Mets.
Maybe most incredibly, Headrick has only had a total of 48 inherited runners. That means just five of the 48 runners he has inherited out of the bullpen have score.
Headrick puts out all sorts of fires for the Yankees.
Brent Headrick Vs. Mets
Headrick was called on in a crucial spot against the Mets on Friday night.
The visitors had just pulled within 5-2 on an A.J. Ewing RBI single, and then Francisco Alvarez walked.
The bases were loaded when Headrick trotted in to take over for Paul Blackburn. There were two outs, so it was only going to work out one way or the other for Headrick.
Stepping into the box was Mets star Francisco Lindor, adding to the drama.
Lindor got a pretty good swing on a fastball from Headrick, right back up the middle. But Headrick stuck his glove out and snatched the line drive.
When you escape all sorts of jams, you might as well take care of business by yourself once in a while.
Where Did Brent Headrick Come From?
Headrick is having a breakout season with the Yankees. He’s now pitched in a whopping 75 games, and he has a 1.96 ERA.
Before this season, he had thrown in 32 MLB games across three seasons — two with the Twins, and last year with the Yankees.
He’s originally a ninth-round pick by the Twins in 2019 out of Illinois State. He grew up in Illinois and was never the most imposing pitcher — that’s how you end up at Illinois State and then in the ninth round.
But Headrick always showed he could get guys out, and any pitcher with intriguing stuff from the left side earns himself a chance.
The best part of this path for the Yankees was that when the Twins waived him at the start of Spring Training in 2025, the Yanks decided to claim him.
He didn’t break through right away, but Headrick eventually got 17 MLB games in 2025 with the Yankees with a 3.13 ERA. That was enough to put him in the conversation for this season’s bullpen, and Headrick has taken it and run full speed ahead, facing any danger that comes his way and almost always handling it.
Yankees’ Brent Headrick Leads Entire MLB in Key Stat