The Yankees have a long line of history when it comes to ace’s but recently like Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, CC Sabathia, but now in 2020 Gerrit Cole. But we aren’t gonna be talking about these guys, today we are gonna talk about who’s gonna be the ace behind Cole in the rotation. Well today I’m gonna be going over 5 guys who could hold that position.
1. Luis Severino: Severino has been our ace from 2017-2019 but in 2019 and 2020 he hasn’t pitched a lot because of arm injuries. But don’t think about his injuries right now, think about his dominant 2018 season where he was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Severino has #1 potential stuff again if he can string together a couple of years with no injuries. Severino’s fastball is one of the more devastating fastball in baseball. Severino was in the 98th percentile for Fastball Velocity, 79th percentile in Fastball Spin, and had a 18.3% Whiff% with his fastball. Don’t get me started on his slider because batters had a .192 BA against it, Sevy threw his slider 35% of the time in the 2018 campaign and only allowed 6 HR’s off his slider with 119 K’s with it as well. In conclusion, Luis Severino has ace stuff but needs to stay on the field.
2. Clarke Schmidt: Is the hype really worth it for Clarke Schmidt? Yes it is because the kid is the new modern day pitcher that every team needs. As the game evolves pitching is more and more becoming a game of “who can spin the ball the hardest and create the most spin” and those guys are Justin Verlander, Trevor Bauer, Tyler Glasnow and a lot of other pitchers. Schmidt has a 4 and 2 seam fastball that he can throw anywhere between 92-97 MPH, and has a curve and changeup that will make hitters look silly. The concern right now is Schmidt’s control which is a problem with most young pitchers. Schmidt is currently 2nd in the Yankees pipeline but one day will be number 2 in the Yankees rotation sooner rather than later.
3. Deivi Garcia: The hype for Deivi Garcia has dated back to when he threw out his first pitch in Rookie League at the age of 16 years old. There was a lot of hype for Deivi Garcia because he was signed when he was 15 years old and drew a lot of comparison to MLB Hall of Famers by a lot of scouts. The hype has still been there for Deivi but definitely died down since Clarke Schmidt and Jasson Dominguez arrived. For being 5’9 the kid is feisty and I love it. Last year, Deivi wasn’t the most efficient pitcher in the minors but did rack up 13.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. The kid also throws gas with a fastball anywhere between 92-97 MPH, and a curveball so good that it’s hard to locate it for strikes, plus in the 2019 campaign added a slider hovering around 80-85 MPH. Now what’s holding Deivi back from being on the 40 man right now is that the Yankees don’t want to waste his service time because he’s only 21. And Deivi could really improve with another full season in the minors where he can fix his control and his walks issue. Cole, Schmidt, Garcia, that’s gonna be a rotation that’s gonna put up a lot of strikeouts.
4. Michael King: Michael King was a steal from the Marlins because all we did was trade a couple of bums for a future ace. The 25 year old right hander is already doing work out of the bullpen and hasn’t gotten his way into the rotation but definitely has the tool to when somebody gets hurt (please don’t). Now he hasn’t pitched to what his stats say because he makes a lot of good pitches but when he makes a mistake pitch the other team usually capitalizes on it. King has a 4 Seam, Sinker, Curve, and change in his repertoire. King has insane movement on his off-speed and then mixes it in with his 93 MPH fastball. It will be unstoppable if he can find the right sequences. King needs to limit his mistakes because his mistakes hurt him and the team a lot. He has the stuff to be unhittable; he just needs to limit the mistakes over the middle.
5. Jonathan Loaisiga: We all know that Loaisiga has nasty stuff. The man can throw a 100 MPH Fastball whenever he wants, then right after throw his recently found 96 MPH sinker. Like that’s elite level stuff but his control might be the worst thing my eyes have ever laid eyes on. This man is throwing curveballs above the zone, changeups outside the box, and then throwing a meatball down the middle. Hitters hit his fastball really well but they struggle with his curveball. Loaisiga’s curve was thrown 30% of the time and hitters hit .125 against it, with a near 50% Whiff%. Another positive going Jonathan’s way is his age because he’s only 25 years old with nearly 2 years of Major League experience already. Hopefully Matt Blake can help Loaisiga reach his full potential because full potential Loaisiga could run this league.
TheDyspatch 