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The Believed Rotation

This past off-season, the Yankees thought Rodon was the finishing touches on what on paper looked like a top-tier program. Rodon would join Rodon at the top of the rotation. Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino were seen as the best third and fourth pitchers in baseball. Frankie Montas appeared like a prime bounce-back candidate.

Montas went down with a shoulder injury ending most of his year. A forearm strain preceded Rodon’s back injury. And Severino has been battling a lat injury. Even Cortes had a brief injury scare when a hamstring caused him to miss the World Baseball Classic.

The New Faces

Going into the year, the Yankees had to have liked their top-depth options to round out the rotation. German and Schmidt have both accumulated MLB experience over the past few years. Ideally, the Yankees figured one could make some spot starts while both were options for long relief. Instead, both have had to be the main options in the rotation.

Furthermore, as a result of trying to compete for a World Series, the Yankees have traded most of their top minor league pitchers. As a result, the young and unproven Brito has made multiple starts to start the season. While Brito was fantastic in his first two outings, he was unable to get out of the first in his last start, as the Twins scored seven runs off the young righty.

While German was just okay during his first two starts, he was so good in his last start that Twins fans have been consistently calling him a cheater since he struck out 11 over 6.2 innings. For German, his track record has seen plenty of ups and downs, but he has had enough success to give the team, and fans, some confidence in his abilities.

The Squeaky Wheel

Unfortunately, not every Yankee starter has seen some success in the early part of the season. In each of his four starts, Schmidt has struggled. While he has only 0-1 on the year, the Yankees are 1-3 in his starts while he has pitched to a dismal 8.79 ERA and a 5.96 FIP. Meanwhile, he has only completed four innings once, causing the Yankees to have to use multiple relievers to finish the games he has started.

For Schmidt, his main issue has been his inability to limit hits. In only 14.1 innings pitched, Schmidt has let up 22 hits, four of which have been home runs.

While the Yankees await for their hurt starting pitchers to return, the team doesn’t have many internal options. Over the past couple of seasons, the team traded most of their top minor league pitchers to help compete for a World Series. As a result, the team’s top prospects are almost completely hitters, with higher potential pitchers in the lower levels of the minor leagues.

Looking Forward

With Severino throwing bullpen sessions, the Yankees will hope to have Severino rejoin the rotation in the near future. As a result, German, Schmidt, or Brito will be bumped from the rotation. With German out of minor-league options, it seems unlikely that he will be the odd one out.

For Brito and Schmidt, they might only get one or two more starts before one is removed from the rotation. At that point, the team will have to decide if either pitcher can help from the bullpen, or if they would be better served to stay “stretched out” in Triple-A. With both pitchers eligible to be sent to the minors, it’s easy to see a scenario where they are directly competing for the final spot.

With Schmidt’s continued struggles, it certainly feels like Brito has the edge.

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Given the length of the Yankees injury list over the last few seasons, the fact that the 2021 season has so far been a relatively healthy one is one (maybe the only one not named Gerrit Cole?) positive takeaway of this year’s team.

But there are still a few pieces on the IL who are expected to play key roles this year:

Luke Voit

Voit reported to the alternative site in Scranton this week and began outside activity minus hitting for the first time since his surgery in late March. And in a very-Luke Voit move, he opted for short sleeves despite a windy 39-degree day per RailRiders beat reporter Conor Foley:

The Feels Like temperature in Moosic is 39 degrees. It’s windy, too. Most of the Alt-Yankees are in sweatshirts and hats and even some gloves.

Luke Voit is sleeveless. pic.twitter.com/QxQghMVXAk

— Conor Foley (@RailRidersTT) April 26, 2021

Aaron Boone reinforced last week that the first baseman’s rehab is going as planned and that a return to the Bronx could be a “couple weeks out.” Barring any setbacks, it’s reasonable to assume that Voit will be back in the lineup by the middle of next month.

Zack Britton

Britton is scheduled to throw off a mound for the first time since surgery this weekend when the Yankees return home from Baltimore. It’s a meaningful next step in his rehab and will likely follow soon after with a trip to Scranton to get innings under his belt.

By all organizational accounts, Britton could be back in the bullpen by Memorial Day weekend. The Yankees haven’t missed him – yet – but with the overreliance on the bullpen in April and presumably continued trend in May, a fresh arm will be a welcomed and likely necessary addition by that point.

Miguel Andujar

Remember him? Once a cornerstone of the future and now an afterthought, Andujar was activated off the IL this week and optioned to Scranton. He had just 15 at bats this spring before being sidelined by a nerve issue and will essentially need to start his season preparation from square one.

The good news for the Yankees: they really don’t need him right now so there’s no pressure to rush his return.

The bad news for Andujar: the Yankees don’t really need him right now, and won’t without a string of injuries.

Clarke Schmidt

Like Britton, Schmidt is scheduled to throw off a mound in the Bronx this weekend for the first time since being shut down shortly after camp opened. Given the state of the Yankees bullpen vs. the rotation, it seems likely that the team will want him built up for a starter’s role like it envisioned coming into the season.

That will mean more minor league innings and a slower build-up process, but with a growing injury history for the young righty, the team is going to be overly cautious in bringing him along.

A realistic best-case scenario would be that Schmidt is healthy and effective enough to plug in to the big-league rotation during the second half of the season when needed.

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Embed from Getty Images

According to multiple reports, the Yankee pitching prospect will be shut down for the next three to four weeks with a strained tendon in his elbow. The injury is akin to tennis elbow, according to skipper Aaron Boone.

On the bright side, nothing appears to be wrong (yet) with Schmidt’s UCL. Back in 2017, Schmidt underwent Tommy John surgery following his junior year at the University of South Carolina.

While Schmidt was expected to battle for the fifth starting rotation spot, he was likely headed to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the season.

Still annoying news to hear with this team on the first day of full camp workouts.

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Corey in the House. pic.twitter.com/yP1JbaUpfN

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) January 28, 2021

Having Quality Starting Depth

A lot of people rag the Yankees for not having safe starters, but I ask you, how many teams have their depth? You may start to think you can list off multiple teams, but after the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Cleveland Indians, you end up stuck. This is because when you start rattling off the names on the Yankees starting depth chart, you realize that it’s genuinely pretty good. Here are some of the current names they have:

Gerrit Cole
Corey Kluber
Jameson Taillon
Jordan Montgomery
Deivi Garcia
Domingo German
Michael King
Clarke Schmidt

While you may see a bunch of question marks, I see a bunch of high-quality talent. Cole needs no introduction, so I won’t go into depth with him. With Kluber and Taillon, they are both extremely talented arms who are finally healthy again. With Montgomery and German, they’re both starters who have been solid in the majors and can provide good innings in the rotation. Garcia and Schmidt both have a 50 or higher FV (Future Value) on Fangraphs, which is pretty good. Garcia is the No. 36 ranked prospect according to Fangraphs and Schmidt is top 110. King is an interesting case since he’s at No. 40 and isn’t highly regarded, but he’s still a talented option. The Yankees have a lot of talent, but how does a six-man rotation help them?

Jame Changer. @JTaillon50 pic.twitter.com/mNkoUyyrFT

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) January 24, 2021

Why a Six-Man Rotation Helps the Yankees With Health

If you are able to keep a six-man rotation, you would have a start every 6 games out of 162. This would mean each starter averages 27 starts, and if they average ~5 innings per start (close to the average from 2019-2020), it would mean around 135 innings per starter. This keeps your arms fresh and ready to go, and with how the Yankees can manipulate minor league options, they can always keep their rotation fresh. Guys coming up and down from AAA and making spot starts or appearances in the bullpen will go a long way for this team. It allows the Yankees to build a system of good pitching philosophies, and with how much talent they have (without even mentioning Severino), they can certainly pull this off.

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This team has the pitching talent, but can they actually get the job done?

Analytics Show Promise In the Yankees Rotation

The Yankees in 2020 had a very underrated rotation. While losing Tanaka will sting, the Yankees arguably improved their rotation. This was a rotation that finished third in kwERA, third in K-BB%, fifth in SIERA, and third in O-Swing% (swing% at pitches outside of the strike zone). A lot of fans will continue to rag on this rotation, but with the potential flashed by started like Garcia and Montgomery, the veteran arms in Kluber and Taillon, and wildcards like German and Schmidt, Cashman might have assembled the perfect staff behind their stalwart ace Cole.

I have faith in these guys, and with a six-man rotation, the Yankees might just be able to have one of the best staffs in the sport.

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Clarke Schmidt, the 24-year-old top prospect for the New York Yankees has a lot of breakout potential. His stuff is filthy, and I think there’s a lot to like about him. While he may not be the guy everyone thinks will make the rotation, I think he has a very good shot at it. It’s up to the Yankees and Matt Blake to utilize his amazing pitch mix arsenal.

Clarke Schmidt Has An Amazing Pitch Mix

In 2020 we saw only 126 pitches of Schmidt, but we saw some amazing pitches. Schmidt has a pitch mix that can be turned into something amazing, the only issue so far has been command. He had a 15.2% BB% and a 41.3% ball%. That being said, it can’t be denied that he is extremely talented.

Slider (37.3% Usage%)
84.5 MPH
3,085 RPM
44.1% Whiff%

Sinker (32,5% Usage%)
94.8 MPH
2,382 RPM
4.5% Whiff%

4-Seam Fastball (21.4% Usage%)
95.0 MPH
2485 RPM
8.3% Whiff%

Changeup (8.7% Usage%)
89.8 MPH
2025 RPM
66.7% Whiff%

This pitch mix is extremely enticing, as he has a good fastball spin rate and velocity. He also has a power sinker that can generate groundballs if he locates them better, as it’s a very solid pitch. The best of them all, though? His wicked slider clocked in at over 3,000 RPM in 2020. Yes, it was a small sample size, but it got swings and misses and RPM. It was a devastating pitch and is the pitch he could be put on the map for.

Taking Massive Strides As a Starter

Schmidt recently did an interview with David Laurila on Fangraphs where they discussed his strides this offseason. He mentioned his heavier use of analytics to develop better pitches and his emerging two-seam fastball. While he didn’t talk about any dramatic groundbreaking tweaks, he did talk about changes. He’s trying to tweak his changeup to a power changeup to fool hitters into thinking it’s his two-seamer and he hopes to generate more swings and misses with this pitch.

Schmidt mentions how it’s RPM is around 2,100 to 2,200 RPM and around 95 MPH. If Schmidt is able to elevate that two-seamer and use it to get more whiffs, he can be a beast in 2021.

I really do believe in Clarke Schmidt to be a good starter in 2021. If the Yankees have a competition for those 4th and 5th spots in Spring Training, don’t be surprised if Schmidt wins a spot.

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Her tweet goes on to say that we can expect to see either one if not both on the bump Sunday against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium.

Whether it’s to showcase them for the trade deadline or to try and give them a shot to bolster the starting rotation, it’ll be exciting to see them finally get an opportunity to pitch in the Bronx.

Cashman: You are definitely going to see either Deivi Garcia or Clarke Schmidt tomorrow if not both #yankees

— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) August 29, 2020

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On Tuesday afternoon, manager Aaron Boone announced that Michael King has made the Opening Day roster. The 25-year-old will be with the big league club as the team opens up its season on Thursday night on the road against the Washington Nationals.

Aaron Boone announced Michael King made the 30 man roster #yankees

— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) July 21, 2020

With Masahiro Tanaka sidelined for the time being, it looks like King will fill his spot on the roster. He is likely to pitch in the team’s third game of the season. Boone announced that the team will go with a “bullpen game” for that contest against the Nats, and stated that King was an option to start.

Boone announced that Michael King has made the team. Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt will report to Scranton camp. Both could still be factors this season, although Schmidt seems further along in development.

King could start 3rd game or it’s a bullpen day. Happ starts 4th Gm.

— Sweeny Murti (@YankeesWFAN) July 21, 2020

Based on what we’ve seen during the team’s summer camp period, King seems ready to take on the challenge. Having made his big league debut last season, King will have another opportunity to prove that he belongs in the Bronx.

Unlike King, Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia did not make the initial Opening Day roster. Boone believes both guys can make an impact for the big league club this season.

Clarke Schmidt will go to Scranton to continue to develop … Aaron Boone said he is very much in the conversation to join the big league club at some point this year #yankees

— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) July 21, 2020

Garcia appears to be a bit behind Schmidt in regards to development, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if both get a chance to pitch for the Yankees this season.

Continue to follow the Bronx Pinstripes team to get the latest news and updates regarding the Yankees 30-man roster.

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Pablo Sandoval is taking grounders at third base. His throws appear to have good carry. pic.twitter.com/Lrk5ltofyl

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 4, 2020

Luke Voit, on the other hand, dropped 13 pounds.

Hopefully Voit being more nimble will help his infield defense.

Since Voit has come to New York, he has done nothing but hit. He has slashed .280/.384/.517, good for a 141 wRC+ with the Yankees. That is elite level production, especially when considering the Yankees got him for spare parts. If there is one complaint with Voit, it has been his infield defense. He seems to have good hands, but he is slow, and moving around field seems, well, clunky. His DRS the past few seasons seems to back that up: -8, and -12, which isn’t Andujar bad, but there is definitely room for improvement.

If Voit can turn himself into an average defensive first baseman, with his walk rate, the ability to hit the ball to all fields, and his power, he can seriously raise his profile in the American League. The Yankees are so stacked, they don’t need Voit to be an all-star, but if he makes a small improvement defensively, he may just get there.

You can watch his full interview below. He talks about Clarke Schmidt being nasty, cutting the weight, what it’s like to be teammates with Gerrit Cole, and his defense. Give it a watch.

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Instead of Jordan Montgomery being the obvious fifth starter candidate, he is now the obvious fourth starter which leaves the team needing an additional arm. In that earlier post, other options mentioned were Deivi Garcia, Michael King, Luis Cessa, and Jonathan Loaisiga.

Let’s run through how those guys are all faring and if they are likely to get that fifth starter job.

Deivi Garcia

Garcia has only appeared in two games this spring, pitching a total of four innings. At this point in spring training, I doubt he is an option for that last starter role with such limited appearances. Interestingly, he has started both games he has appeared in which is more likely to get him acclimated to a starter’s routine to finish his development in AAA before hopefully a late-season promotion.

Michael King

Podcast guest Michael King has appeared in four spring training games pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 9.1 innings. Averaging more than two innings per appearance means the team is stretching him out a bit, possibly with the goal of seeing what he can do as a starter for the big league club. However, King has not started a game yet which means he has mostly faced lower-level hitters. If King is a strong candidate for the job, look for him to get a start sometime this week. In a mailbag at The Athletic, Lindsey Adler (subs req’d) posited King as the frontrunner for the job in her opinion.

Luis Cessa

Cessa has appeared in four games this spring but only thrown 5.2 innings total. We haven’t heard anything about him, so I think he is ticketed to resume his longman role out of the bullpen.

Jonathan Loaisiga

Jonny Lasagna was the guy I was most excited about with this competition because of his pure stuff as seen here:

Loaisiga making good use of his four pitches.

Two-seam (96)
Four-seam (97)
Curveball (83)
Changeup (88)

I still haven't seen any sliders from him this spring, which he's supposedly working on incorporating. pic.twitter.com/tewT1cSUUH

— Lucas Apostoleris (@DBITLefty) March 3, 2020

Having four pitches is definitely starter stuff, however, Loaisiga has been used in relief lately which makes me think he will be used out of the bullpen to start the year. He made 2 starts in spring training, but his last outing was from the bullpen which isn’t a good sign for him to have a starter’s job.

Clarke Schmidt

Schmidt has looked great this spring and got the start for the split-squad game against Baltimore yesterday. With the other guys in this competition, they have been trending down in terms of assignments whereas Schmidt is trending up. Schmidt was so under the radar I didn’t even include him in my last look at fifth starter options. His stuff has looked great:

And a power-changeup, too. pic.twitter.com/FaFKg5TgNN

— Lucas Apostoleris (@DBITLefty) February 27, 2020

Schmidt has never thrown above 90 innings in a season or pitched above AAA which would likely put him at a disadvantage in this competition, yet he has arguably impressed the most this spring. I could envision the team having him start the year as the fifth starter with the plan to send him down when Paxton returns from his back injury.

At this point, we can’t definitively say who has a leg up on the fifth starter competition and Aaron Boone hasn’t given an indication in any direction. With opening day just 16 days away, it sounds like the team either doesn’t know what they’re going to do or is going to put the plan in place soon. I am curious to watch who gets starting assignments over the next week and which guys start to get stretched out. If one guy starts going 4+ innings, he is likely to be the fifth starter.

There is always the possibility the team decides to use the opener or some sort of tandem starter. Maybe Loaisiga goes through the order once before giving way to Cessa or the other way around. Maybe there’s an opener used for one of these guys. We don’t know yet and that is the biggest storyline to watch over the next two weeks. Except of course the Bronx Pinstripes Spring Training Trip!

PARTY ALERT

We’ve partnered with @SailorJerry to throw a party next Saturday at @YardofAleSoHo after the #Yankees Spring Training Game.

Come out 4-7pm for drink specials (maybe some free drinks ) and we’re bringing a batting cage to the parking lot! #BPCrew pic.twitter.com/gzgdf4y61n

— Bronx Pinstripes (@BronxPinstripes) March 6, 2020

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It is easy to forget just how solid Montgomery was as a rookie in 2017. He was 24 years old that season and came out of practically nowhere to win a spot in the rotation. After making only six starts in 2018, he needed Tommy John and missed the rest of that season as well as the entire 2019 campaign.

At the moment, the rotation probably shakes out like this: Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, open spot, open spot. Montgomery is easily a favorite to claim one of the openings, with guys such as Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King, and Clarke Schmidt competing for the other. So what can Montgomery bring to the table in 2020?

I will be looking at 2017 for a more complete picture of Montgomery’s body of work. He has never been a hard thrower — he averaged 91.7 MPH on his sinker in 2017 and 91.9 MPH on his four-seamer. So he must make up for it with movement, right? Well, the vertical and horizontal movement on all of his pitches were below league average except for the vertical movement on his four-seam fastball. Yet he still managed to hold hitters to an expected batting average of .173 with his curve and .179 with his slider. 

Montgomery has been transitioning to becoming more of a pitcher who’s primary pitch is a sinker rather than a four-seam. 

This makes sense, as he has been a ground-ball pitcher in his career, generate 41.6 percent ground-balls versus 27.0 percent fly-balls. This plays well at Yankee Stadium. In his first two seasons, he pitched to a very solid 1.18 HR/9. 

With his velocity, Montgomery never really was a swing-and-miss type of pitcher. But throughout the 2017 season, he became even less of a swing-and-miss pitcher and pitched to contact more often.  

His 31.8 percent hard-hit rate put him in the top 100 (97th) that year among qualifiers. 

Here’s how he stacked up against league averages:

So by all means, Montgomery was an above-average major league starter as a rookie. And now that he’s essentially locked in to being the fourth starter, he will have to perform well once again to put management at peace and not force them to make a big move as the season wears on. 

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A few weeks ago, I covered the Yankees top prospects according to Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, and MLB Pipeline. You can find that article here. Fellow nerd Frank Marco gave you plenty of takeaways from FanGraphs top prospects list which you can find here.

We’re coming up on the last of the prospect lists, and yesterday we got the release of Keith Law’s Top 100. Formerly of ESPN, Law moved to The Athletic this season which means I can finally read everything he writes It also means I can share some takeaways from his Top 100 Prospect List.

Three Yankee prospects made the list, and it’s the three you would expect: Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia, and Jasson Dominguez. I’ll give a little detail about what KLaw said about each one (limited because paywall) and then go into some overall takeaways.

#51 Clarke Schmidt

Law is the only outlet to rank Schmidt as the top prospect in the Yankees system. Others disagree between Deivi and Jasson, but here Law is hyping up Clarke Schmidt which is awesome. Difference of opinion is good with prospect lists, and maybe it just means all three of them will be awesome. Law mentions Schmidt “misses bats” with his fastball which approaches 95mph and backs it up with a good slurvy-slider. He thinks Schmidt has No. 4 starter floor with No. 3 starter upside. With all the pitching injuries a No. 3 starter would be incredibly valuable.

#67 Deivi Garcia

First, the good news: Deivi can throw any of his four pitches in any count and use them to get swings and misses. To me, a guy with four quality pitches is a good starter and would be a great starter with command. And therein lies the problem with Garcia. Law notes he struggles with command and that could hold him back. The other thing that keeps Deivi from ranking higher is his size and emphasis on using his upper body in his delivery. That type of max-effort doesn’t bode well for future injuries or remaining a starter. Law does not say Garcia’s future is in the bullpen but does mention he could succeed in short bursts.

#99 Jasson Dominguez

The good news: Aaron Judge’s number is 99. Also, Law affirms with every other report has said: Jasson is built and has more hype than any Latin American prospect since Wander Franco who ranks #1 on every list. From reading Keith Law over the years, I know he has a strong preference to rank prospects after he has seen them live in person. And from this report, it sounds like he has not yet seen The Martian in action, which explains a low ranking and minimal scouting information. Hopefully, Jasson plays a bunch stateside this season and we find him near the top of prospect rankings next year.

Other Takeaways

It seems like Schmidt has overtaken Deivi as the #1 pitching prospect in the system. Baseball Prospectus is the only ranking site which rates Deivi higher. Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and KLaw all prefer Schmidt, though not by that much. I guess the concerns about Deivi’s size, command and longevity pose a risk and we won’t know for a few years how he will fare in the majors.

Command is one of the last pitching skills to develop, so I am still optimistic about Garcia’s long-term outlook. He struggled with walks in his brief cameo at AAA last season, and that is the number to watch for Deivi this year whether he’s in AAA or MLB. The stuff is there and he has 4 pitches to throw, so once he learns command he could easily be a No. 2 starter if not an ace. Schmidt is a bit of a safer prospect, other than the Tommy John in his past, and I am excited to watch him throughout Spring Training and hopefully in the show this year.

This was the lowest ranking of Jasson so far, and in a way that encourages me. You just don’t see 16-year-olds with minimal game action get ranked on prospect lists let alone in the Top 50. Yet here we are, and even at #99, Law notes the incredible tools. Jasson basically needs to learn the ins and outs of the game – pitch recognition, maintaining elite speed, and route running. Those are more the mental aspect of the game and that is what will determine if Jasson can truly live up to his nickname of The Martian.

You can contact Rohan on Twitter @rohanarcot20

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Gleyber and DJ are out of the game by 2 p.m., and you are snoozing in the chair by 2:15.

Admittedly, those who are there more out of persistence than a real chance to be a legitimate big-league player will cure insomnia. They are what the NFL calls “camp bodies.” However, MLB is also different. Its future stars are not all in college and instead get assigned to minor league affiliates. The club then invites them to big league camp alongside the stars and camp bodies. Unlike the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason game, watching them today is watching the Yankees tomorrow.

Today we will be looking at those pitchers in camp most likely to be part of the future of the franchise. Although system rankings tend to favor teams with “cannot miss” prospects at the highest levels, the Yankees still have a robust and deep system with a substantial number of high upside players. Today, we will look at the top five pitchers to look for in Tampa who you will be on your living room TV screen through March. We will look at position players tomorrow.

Deivi Garcia

I list Garcia first not because he is a can’t miss or the organization’s best prospect, but because he is the most well known among fans and closest to the big club. Baseball America has Clarke Schmidt rated as the better pitching prospect. Other scouts see one or more of last year’s core four pitchers in Charleston as highly regarded as Garcia.

That’s not a knock on Deivi. It’s a shout out to the depth.

The 20-year-old Dominican and third-ranked (Baseball America) Yankee prospect returns in 2020 for a season likely to begin in AAA, even though his projected WAR (1.3) is fifth among potential Yankee starters. The organization likes to see players conquer a level before moving them up, something he has not yet done in SWB. Last year began in A+ Tampa, where he excelled with a 3.06 ERA and a 16.81 SO/9 in 17 innings. He moved to AA Trenton sporting a 3.86/14.59, before ending in SWB with a 5.40/10.12 line. The SO/9 is what caught the imagination of scouts and fans and will continue to do so, even if he did get knocked around a bit.

Garcia’s big jump is attributed mostly to adding a slider after 2018, a pitch already considered to be the best in the system. It adds to a big hook and a low to mid 90’s fastball. Scouts do not agree on his ultimate role, as he has starter stuff but a small, 5’10”, 160 lb frame. Along with a high effort delivery, it may limit him to a leverage relief role.

Deivi Garcia strikes out Micheal Chavis.

ilovethissong.gif pic.twitter.com/y8D4imumMD

— sean corby (@SEANC0RBY) August 27, 2019

Clarke Schmidt

From a piece I wrote on Schmidt last week:

Schmidt was the Yankees first-round pick, 16th overall, in the 2017 MLB draft after playing college ball for South Carolina. A month before the draft, he underwent successful Tommy John surgery causing many to consider him a reach prospect. He made his minor league debut late in the 2018 season in the GCL and finishing up in the NYPenn with Staten Island.

2019 began his first full season in the minors, including his season premiere gem against 2018 overall number one pick and Tiger farmhand, Casey Mize. Schmidt threw five perfect innings with nine strikeouts.

He climbed to A+ Tampa and eventually to Trenton for his last three regular-season games. In the Eastern League, Schmidt had a 2.37 ERA, 0.47 BB/9, 9.00 SO/9, and an incredible 0.79 WHIP. Three starts is an admittedly small sample size, but he continued pitching well through the Eastern League Championship, giving up one run in 10.2 innings.

The 6’1” 200-pound right-hander boasts a 94-95 MPH fastball, a plus change-up, a curve, and a slider. However, Schmidt describes the last two as more of a “slurve,” which he can manipulate with speed and arm slot. Due to the variety of pitches, scouts have him projected as a middle of the rotation starter who will likely begin the season in Trenton but could find himself with the big club as a late-season call-up.

Brian Cashman on Clarke Schmidt when he was drafted: https://t.co/ycNrXtQRJw pic.twitter.com/VH2Qyvat8l

— YankeesCenter Podcast (@yankees_center) February 17, 2020

Luis Gil

Gil is the first of the Charleston core four from last year, along with Roansy Contreras, Luis Medina, and Alexander Vizcaino.

The word of the day for Gil is heat. The fourth-ranked prospect has a fastball that reaches 100 mph, plus plus movement, and grades out to 70+ on the scouting 20-80 scale. It comes with a low 90’s changeup and an 85 mph curveball, both graded at around 55.

The former Twin farmhand acquired in a trade for Jack Cave began 2019 in Charleston before finishing up in Tampa with a 2.72 ERA, 123 strikeouts in 96 innings while giving up only one home run. Like all young pitchers, control and command were significant issues, giving up a walk nearly every two innings. The development of his secondary pitches will likely determine if he ends up a starter or short reliever.

RHP Luis Gil pitched to a 13.3 SO/9 rate in 2018 with @PulaskiYanks. He's doing more of the same in 2019 with @ChasRiverDogs, striking out 9 in his start on Friday (5.0 IP // 1 H // 2 BB // 0 R // 9 K). pic.twitter.com/AhkBJXskOO

— NYYPlayerDev (@NYYPlayerDev) April 22, 2019

Luis Medina

The seventh-ranked Yankee prospect struggled for much of the 2019 season, gifting six walks per nine innings that he would let snowball into big innings. He is another kid with an elite arm, however, sporting a fastball averaging at about 98 along with his changeup and curveball that both have plus movement. His swing and miss rates best illustrate the potential. When in the strike zone, batters missed his fastball 32% of the time. The curveball had a 44% miss rate. For comparison, Gerrit Cole had a 29% miss rate in 2019.

Medina did seem to find some control and command in August and flourished. He would have a 10 strikeout outing on July 11 and take off. Medina pitched to the tune of 62 strikeouts and 15 walks in almost 46 innings over his last eight starts. It was strong enough to be promoted to A+ Tampa, where he ended 2019 with one ER and 12 strikeouts in his final 10.2 innings.

Yankees pitching prospect Luis Medina could be on "a similar path as [Luis Severino]," says Tim Naehring. pic.twitter.com/1Bd7H5er3A

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 11, 2019

Alexander Vizcaino

Vizcaino is probably the one I’m most interested in seeing. I am not a professional scout, but comments like this make my neck hairs stand up:

“It’s one of the best changeups in baseball. Not the minor leagues. Not in the Yankees’ system. In all of baseball.” -Yankees Vice President of Baseball Operations, Tim Naehring

He then goes on to compare Vizcaino to a young Felix Hernandez, both sporting elite changeups with a power fastball (95-98).

That sounds like the sputter of the Bugs Bunny eephus pitch, even if it is with a nice helping of hyperbole.

Another one of these #Yankees hard throwers. #PinstripePride RHP prospect Alexander Vizcaino profiles as a RP with mid-90s heat through two. Got lucky here, missing with location. pic.twitter.com/FkgoaErFey

— Chris Blessing (@C_Blessing) June 11, 2019

Others to watch

By no means does that exhaust the list of excellent prospects. Michael King, Domingo Acevedo, etc. Stick around for those guys as well!

See you tomorrow with the position players…

Don’t be “that guy!”

The post Minority Report: Game time! Who to watch and why, pitcher edition appeared first on Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com.

The discussion included being invited to his first big league camp as a non-roster invitee, overcoming Tommy John surgery, his pitch repertoire and improved spin rates, his rise to Trenton, and his goals (the Bronx!) for 2020. The interview begins at the 28:00 mark.

NEW EPISODE

With TJ behind him, #Yankees' Clarke Schmidt looks toward The Show
Tyler & Sam break down Farm System Rankings: Position Players
Ben's Biz shares what's in a name

Listen NOW https://t.co/6cT80NHzqi pic.twitter.com/P3WyadazAJ

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) February 13, 2020

Schmidt was the Yankees first-round pick, 16th overall, in the 2017 MLB draft after playing college ball for South Carolina. A month before the draft, he underwent successful Tommy John surgery causing many to consider him a reach prospect. He made his minor league debut late in the 2018 season in the GCL and finishing up in the NYPenn with Staten Island.

2019 began his first full season in the minors, including his season premiere gem against 2018 overall number one pick and Tiger farmhand, Casey Mize. Schmidt threw five perfect innings with nine strikeouts.

#Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt was an absolute beast last night!
5 IP 0R 0H 0BB 9K
Ideal workhorse frame. H3/4 w/ mod effort. Good cmmd; seq x well; FB 93-95 t96 sinks it low, ridiculous run elsewhere; CB low-80s tight rot & nasty action; mixed in solid avg mid-80s SL & CH. pic.twitter.com/HArevcQ7nk

— james chipman (@_jchipman) April 5, 2019

He climbed to A+ Tampa and eventually to Trenton for his last three regular-season games. In the Eastern League, Schmidt had a 2.37 ERA, 0.47 BB/9, 9.00 SO/9, and an incredible 0.79 WHIP. Three starts is an admittedly small sample size, but he continued pitching well through the Eastern League Championship, giving up one run in 10.2 innings. From his six scoreless inning long relief outing in the league semi-finals against Reading:

Some Clarke Schmidt curveballs. pic.twitter.com/TpjluBh32H

— Lucas Apostoleris (@DBITLefty) November 18, 2019

The 6’1” 200-pound right-hander boasts a 94-95 MPH fastball, a plus change-up, a curve, and a slider. However, Schmidt describes the last two as more of a “slurve,” which he can manipulate with speed and arm slot. Due to the variety of pitches, scouts have him projected as a middle of the rotation starter who will likely begin the season in Trenton but could find himself with the big club as a late-season call-up.

He completed his first major league bullpen session today.

Clarke Schmidt (#86) – the #Yankees No. 2 prospect per @BaseballAmerica – tossing his first bullpen of the spring and catching the eye of skipper Aaron Boone.

The right-handed is one of eight non-roster pitchers who received an invite to Yankees’ Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/eBf8qoPAXP

— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) February 13, 2020

The post Minority Report: Yankee prospect Clarke Schmidt guests on MiLB’s TSBTS podcast appeared first on Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com.

Included among the invitees are top pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt, and veteran competitors for the backup catching position: Chris Iannetta, Erik Kratz, and Josh Thole.

Schmidt is a prime candidate to be called up this season should an injury or ineffectiveness occur in the starting rotation. There’s also the possibility that J.A. Happ could still be traded at some point.

Another pitcher hoping to wear the pinstripes this season is ex-Angel Nick Tropeano. The right-hander started 14 games for the Halos in 2018 but made just three Major League appearances last season. He missed the last two months of the 2016 season and all of 2017 due to Tommy John surgery.

Additionally, pitchers Dan Otero, David Hale, Tyler Lyons, Domingo Acevedo, Luis Avilan, and Alexander Vizcaino are among this year’s NRI list.

Otero, who was in the Yankees organization for a day back in March of 2013, spent the last four seasons with the Indians after a combined four seasons with the A’s and Giants. He made 25 appearances out of the pen last season without much success. He’s definitely looked at to add depth to the Scranton RailRiders roster.

Both Hale (20 games) and Lyons (11 games) pitched for the Yankees last season with mixed results. Lyons also appeared in one game each in the ALDS and ALCS. He’ll be competing for a lefty specialist spot.

Acevedo is a 6’7″ right-hander with a power arm and the ability to pitch in the Majors, but he needs to have a consistent season at Scranton. He threw well for the Trenton Thunder last season but didn’t make the most of his 10 appearances at Triple-A.

Avilan is a 30-year old right-hander who made 45 appearances for the Mets last season. The Yankees are the seventh organization he’ll be looking to pitch with, though he’s a longshot for a call up.

The 22-year old Vizcaino has spent five seasons in the Yankees’ farm system after being signed out of the Dominican Republic. After the 2019 season, Baseball America ranked him as the Yankees ninth-best prospect. He mixes a power fastball with a top-notch changeup.

NRI Outfielders

Three outfielders are among the invitees, including one of the best names in baseball, Zack Granite (who e really could be playing in Bedrock with Fred Flintstone).

Granite spent last season playing for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville after spending his first six years in the Twins organization. The local product (who grew up in Staten Island and went to Seton Hall University) made his Major League debut in 2017, posting a .611 OPS in 40 games.

Trey Amburgey and Thomas Milone are the other two full-time outfielders in camp.

Amburgey was a 13th-round pick by the Yankees in the 2015 draft and he had a solid 2019 season for Scranton. He posted a .274/.329/.494 split with 22 HR and 62 RBI in 470 at-bats.

The lefty-hitting, lefty-throwing Milone spent his first seven seasons in the Rays’ organization before inking a deal with the Bombers. He’s shown tremendous power but not much else.

NRI Catchers

Kelling Deglan and Wynston Sawyer are the two additional catchers in camp, each without Major League experience. The Rangers made him the 22nd overall pick in the 2010 draft but he has spent most of his time bouncing between Double-A and Triple-A.

Sawyer was an eighth-round pick by the Orioles in 2010. He’s also played in the Dodgers’ and Twins’ systems. A few years ago, Sawyer’s Isolated Slugging percentage (ISO) ranked high among minor league catchers but he hasn’t progressed since then.

NRI Infielders

Chris Gittens, Kyle Holder, and Rosell Herrera round out the list of 19 NRIs.

Gittens, a 12th-round pick in 2014, was impressive at Trenton last year with 23 HR, 77 RBI, and an .890 OPS. The first baseman/DH who turns 26 on Tuesday, must continue to show growth at Scranton this year if he wants to make it to the Majors in 2021.

Holder, taken with the 30th-overall pick in the 2015 draft, is a utility infielder who can play up the middle or at the hot corner. He’s a solid gloveman with a bit of pop, but doesn’t hit enough to be looked at as an everyday player.

Herrera has 149 Major League games under his belt, having played with the Reds, Royals, and Marlins over the last two years. He’s seen time at second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions. His defensive versatility gives him a chance to be the last man on a Major League roster since his hitting leaves much to be desired.

Pitchers and Catchers report in just nine days!

The post Yankees announce 2020 Non-Roster Invitees appeared first on Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com.