While pitching for Class AAA Memphis after a rocky start led to a demotion in his second big-league season, reliever Ryan Fernandez began to see successful results peak through thanks to some mechanical adjustments, and with that came some regained confidence.

It wasn’t until a player plan meeting with Memphis manager Ben Johnson, pitching coach Darwin Marrero and special adviser and pitching instructor Jason Isringhausen that helped the 27-year-old flip a mental switch.

Fernandez and the trio of coaches reviewed his pitch mix and saw his “stuff” looked similar to what it did in 2024, when he posted a 3.51 ERA and had a 31.5% whiff rate, per Statcast, in 62 games as a rookie. The meeting helped him realize how, along with the mechanical changes, he could turn around a 2025 season that be

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