Farm systems across Major League Baseball are continuously looking for hard-throwing pitchers who can quickly move up the ladder, and the Yankees may have just that.
Domingo Acevedo stands at an imposing 6-foot-7 on the mound while commanding a heater that has touched 103 MPH. This has caught the attention of many in the Yankees system, including Gary Denbo who is the vice president of player development.
“He looks like he’s going to move quickly through the organization,” Denbo said, via Brendan Kuty of nj.com.
With the performance he has put up this year, it may only be a matter of time before the flamethrower makes his way up the system.
On the young season, the 22-year-old has gotten off to an electric start. He is 2-0 with a 1.91 ERA in five starts at Low-A Charleston.
The Dominican Republic native has baffled hitters this season, striking out 32 batters in only 28.1 innings pitched. Not only has the speed been there for the powerful right-hander, the command has not been an issue to this point, which can be a knock on a starting pitching who can let the ball fly. He has walked just four batters this year.
“He’s a big guy, and bigger guys could take a little bit longer to develop and gather control of their bodies and execute pitches and repeat their delivery,” Denbo told Kuty. “But he’s done a nice job for us so far.”
Acevedo has been in the Yankees farm system since he was signed in 2013 at the age of 19, and has been steadily improving ever since.
Per nine innings pitched, he is striking out a whopping 10 batters – over one an inning. This comes with a walk rate of one per nine innings.
The key will be if Acevedo can master his breaking ball in order to compliment the fastball.
“I know he’s got power to his fastball but bottom line he’s got to execute pitches, throw his fastball for strikes and develop his breaking ball,” Denbo said according to Kuty. “When he does that, he’s going to move quick.”
With the way he has impressed thus far on the year, Acevedo is making a case to move his way up the system quickly.
