deivi garcia

When will New York Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt debut this year?

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New York Yankees, Clarke Schmidt

The New York Yankees new top pitching prospect made his spring debut this week and looked pretty impressive if you ask me. Clarke Schmidt struggled a little when he first started last weekend but has shown why he is the new top pitching prospect for the Yankees.

In his first outing, Schmidt allowed a single down the line which saw the runner get thrown out at second. After that, Schmidt threw seven straight balls although a couple were very borderline calls. In a 3-0 count, Schmidt showed his dynamic changeup for a whiff then got an inning-ending double play.

In his second outing against the Rays, Schmidt threw two strong innings striking out three batters showing off his knee-buckling curveball along with his fastball and change. Empire Sports talked about the fact that the Yankees might have found their fifth starter in Schmidt, but will it be after this spring or sometime later in the year?

Schmidt’s Ceiling is High

I think Clarke Schmidt is the best option for the Yankees rotation. You’re looking at a guy who has three plus pitches and scouts are starting to talk about how he could be a top end of the rotation kind of arm. The 24-year-old looks primed to make his debut sometime this year for the Yankees.

That being said, I would be stunned if Schmidt breaks camp as the fifth starter for the Yankees. While a lot of folks think he is ready now, I think the Yankees will slow play this just a little. The Yankees have the top four spots in their rotation figured out, and they are expecting Paxton back in the first part of the season. I think the Yankees see the incredible value in Schmidt, but I also think they want to give him every chance to develop in the minors before throwing him into the rotation.

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Where does he start?

Now, Schmidt does have the ability to force their hand early in the year. I think the Yankees need/should to start him in AAA along with Deivi Garcia. I think they will patch the fifth spot in the rotation together while letting Schmidt and Garcia have more time at AAA to fine-tune some stuff.

If Schmidt comes out and looks like a world-beater at AAA, the guys battling for that fifth spot might lose their job before they can even get a fair look. It’s a doom and gloom time right now with all the injuries, but the rotation depth the Yankees have should comfort fans. Once the Yankees get Paxton and German back, they have about nine or ten guys who could start in a major league rotation. Out of all those young guys, Schmidt has the highest ceiling and I do expect him to pitch in pinstripes this year. If you ask me, it won’t be early unless injuries force the hand of the Yankees, but Schmidt will pitch in New York at some point.

New York Yankees beat Atlanta Braves, Deivi Garcia has antsy debut

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New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

The Atlanta Braves welcomed the New York Yankees to CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida, where the skies were mostly sunny, and the game-time temperature was 58 degrees.  Mike Soroka started in his first start of the season for the Braves, and Deivi Garcia, who is either No.1 or No.2 on all Yankee prospects lists, pitched the first start of spring training.  Today’s game started with DJ LeMahieu leading off for the Yankees.  LeMahieu started with a single to right as the first baseman couldn’t handle the ball that bounced off his arm  But he was saved by Mike Tauchman getting a double play when he grounded out.  Gleyber Torres followed striking out and ending the inning for the Yankees.

At the bottom of the first Deivi Garcia took the mound to face Ronald Alcuna Jr., Deivi Garcia got the 466th strikeout of his young career.  Ozzie Albies flew out, but then Gleyber Torres bobbled a ball hit by Markakis, recovered, and sent a wild one past the first baseman.  Marcell Ozuna struck out to get Garcia out of the inning.  In the second, Soroka faced 3rd baseman Gio Urshela, who struck out.  Miguel Andujar had a long single to center.  Higashioka singled advancing Andujar into scoring position, Gittens and DH Thole struck out.        In the Braves half, d’Arnaud struck out, Inciarte walked, Johan Camargo homered to right off Garcia for the 2-0 Braves lead. Alonso flew out to Tauchman.  Kozma grounded out courtesy of a dazzling play by DJ LeMahieu.  Garcia gave up two runs in the half.

Josh Tomlin, in the third, struck out Amburgey.  DJ went down looking,  Tauchman flew out to center as the Yankees remained scoreless.       At the bottom, Nick Nelson replaced Garcia and got Kozma on a ground out to Torres.  Acuna Jr flew out to Andujar in left, and Markakis singled over DJ’s head.  Higgy made a pickoff to end the inning.  In the top of the fouth Torres ground out, Urshela also ground out, Andujar walked but, Higgy grounded out right back to Tomlin for the half.  The bottom of the fourth Nelson faced Ozuna, who flew out to Andujar, d’Arnaud lined out, Incairte stuck out to end the inning.

Tomlin in for the fifth stuck out Gittens, Thole singled off the right-field wall, which should have been a double, but the ball bounced back to the right fielder.  Amburgey blooped one down to third for the out. DJ LeMahieu hit an inning-ending fly out to the right.  At the bottom, Nelson was replaced by Tyler Lyons, who faced Camargo, who hit a line drive just off third, and Gio Urshela made a stellar play throwing a strike to first for the out.  Alonso struck out, Kozma followed with a lineout.  Lyons put the Braves down, one, two, three. At the top of the third, Will Smith came out to pitch for the Braves.  Mike Tauchman walked, Torres hit to left for a single and moving Tauchman to third.  Holder pinch-running for Torres.   Holder stole second and scored Tauchman Holder at third.  Andujar struck out, and Higgy flew out to center, ending the top of the sixth, but the Yankees picked up a run.   Atlanta 2 New York 1.

Acuna Jr. struck out against Avilan, the new Yankee pitcher.  Albies got fanned, Drew Waters fanned as Avilan struck out the side. At the top of the seventh Smith faced Gittens, he singled, Burt in to pinch run.  Shane Greene replaced Smith.  Thole singled, and Estevan Florial homed to center for the Yankees first lead of the day; Yankees 3 Braves 2.  Zehner followed with a single.  Ruta got fanned.  Zehner got to second on a wild pitch to Holder.  Holder struck out to end the half, but the Yankees picked up two runs for the lead.  Brooks Kriske handled the pitching for the Yankees and got an out, back to him.  Langelier flew out to Holder.  Robinson threw out for the second one, two, three inning for Yankee pitching.

The top of the eighth, with most of the starting Yankees out of the game, Oswaldo Cabrera grounded out.  Hoy Jun Park doubled.  Wynston Sawyer doubled, and Park scored for the Yankees 4-2 lead.  Max Burt flew out to the shortstop for the second out.  Kellin Deglan singled driving in Park for the Yankees 5-2 lead.  Florial stuck out to end the two-run inning for the Yankees.  The bottom of the eighth Alexander Vizcaino faced the Braves.  The first fastball was 97mph.  Kazmar, Jr. struck out. Jenista was fanned.  CJ Alexander out as the Yankees put down the Braves one, two, three for the fifth straight inning.

Zehner went down against Sobotka at the top of the ninth.  Ruta struck out; Kyle Holder ground out for the Yankee exit in the ninth.  In for the save for the Yankees was Albert Abreu. Trey Harris homered as the Braves picked up a run. Solarte ground out. Waters stuck out on a 99mph Abreu fastball. Salazar ground out to end any threat from the Braves. Abreu saved the Yankees 5-3 win.

Luis Avilan got the win for the Yankees, and Shane Greene took the loss for the Braves. After Deivi Garcia gave up two runs in the second, the Yankee’s relief pitching was stellar. Nelson, Avilan, Vizcaino, Abreu in the save gave up a home run.  All three Braves runs were home runs. The Braves didn’t get a hit after the third inning until Harris homered in the ninth. At one point, the Yankee pitching got five straight one, two, three innings. The win today was the fourth consecutive win for the Yankees.

Tomorrow’s action will be wild with split squads playing two games on a Saturday afternoon. Both games start at 1:05 pm. Gerrit Cole, in his second start of spring training will face the Detroit Tigers at George M. Steinbrenner Field while the second Yankee squad will play at Jet Blue Park facing the Boston Red Sox for the first time in spring training.

 

It’s February 25th, And The New York Yankees Already Have Problems

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New York Yankees, Luis Severino

The New York Yankees announced on Tuesday that Luis Severino would be out for the rest of the season as he will be undergoing Tommy John surgery.

As soon as I heard about his arm issues last week, I instantly had a bad feeling. With everything he went through last year, it seemed that this was all connected.

But unfortunately, we’re two weeks into spring training and already down our number two pitcher. Our number four pitcher James Paxton is making good injury progress and should be throwing again within a week.

Right now, the rotation looks like this: Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, JA Happ, Jordan Montgomery, and an unknown player. Paxton won’t be ready for opening day, and with Domingo German suspended until June, someone will need to make a few starts.

The Yankees could either sign a veteran pitcher for cheap or use in-house guys. The in-house guys that come to mind are Jonathan Loaisiga or Luis Cessa. Both guys are already on the 40-man roster and have started before.

Deivi Garcia could be another option and is also on the 40-man roster. The only problem is, he hasn’t pitched a major league game. He’s very inexperienced and needs more time in AAA.

So, the Yankees have a problem to sort out already. It’s just February, but it still feels like 2019 with all the injury news. Luckily, we’re still a month from opening day, and the Yankees have plenty of time for trial and error to figure out who the temporary fifth starter will be.

 

New York Yankees may have to look to youth star after injuries to pitching rotation

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New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

While reports of New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino being shut down undoubtedly surprised many, the injury he’s dealing with has been present since the final game he pitched in the ALCS against the Houston Astros in 2019.

So, not only did Severino get injured against Houston, but they also cheated against him as well…go figure. However, skipper Aaron Boone stated that his forearm soreness was considered a minor ailment, despite the potential for something more serious. CT scans and MRIs have shown negative results, indicating that it could just be a “loose body” floating around in his elbow, therefore creating discomfort.

The Bombers may have Severino undergo surgery to remove anything holding him back from being his usual self. That would result in two players having surgery before spring training games even commence — not exactly the start Yankee fans imagined when they dropped $324 million on Gerrit Cole.

With Severino possibly missing time, it could be time for one youngster to make the jump to the majors, and he even started his spring with a strikeout against Giancarlo Stanton and Clint Frazier on Thursday.

Deivi Garcia is the player to be enamored by, as he dropped a nasty changeup on the first pitch against Frazier, check it out below:

 

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That’s big-league level stuff, and Garcia made a case for himself on Thursday that he’s ready to make the jump if need be. While Severino’s absence may give Michael King the first shot at making the roster, Garcia doesn’t seem far behind with his mid-90s fastball and dangerous curve. If he can harness his accuracy and maintain his speed, he could be looking at a major-league debut in 2020.

Is Deivi Garcia ready to join the New York Yankees?

From the looks of Deivi’s 2019 numbers, he’s not ready to make his MLB debut. Having gone from single-A to AAA-ball in three months, his adaptation to each division was quick and smooth. However, he struggled with high-A Tampa. Having posted a 5.40 ERA with 24 earned runs, eight homers, over 40 innings, the indication here is that he might need more time in the minors.

It’s impressive to strike out two major-league hitters back-to-back, but live-game situations are much tenser.

New York Yankees: Will No.1 pitching prospect Deivi Garcia hit the big time this season?

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New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

Baseball America ranks the New York Yankee pitching prospect Deivi Garcia the #2 pitching prospect, MLB Pipeline rates him as #1. Back in 2015, the Yankees signed the then 16-year-old Dominican for a $200K signing bonus. He made his professional debut in 2016 and played in the rookie leagues for two years. In 2018 he really started to develop and ended the season in double A. 2019 would see the young star zip through from A+ Tampa through Trenton and all the way to AAA Scranton Wilkes/Barre and, the Rail Riders.

Garcia and another top pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt are at spring training in Tampa competing for a starting spot in the rotation, which most likely will not happen even with the loss of James Paxton. Because the Yankees did not trade J.A. Happ, Masahiro Tanaka will take Paxton’s place in the rotation, and J.A. Happ will move from fifth to the fourth spot in the rotation. That open spot that Garcia and Schmidt will try for will most likely go to the tried and deserving Jordan Montgomery.

Deivi has attracted a lot of attention from the media in the few days he’s been in Tampa. Garcia is known as a strikeout machine as he struck out 165 batters in just 111 innings this past season. With his swift progress last year, he can smell the majors getting closer. “Of course, I would love to contribute, right, in some way. It’s always — you understand that you’re getting closer.” Garcia said. “Being here, I have an opportunity to learn a lot from all the veterans in this room, that’s something that I want to do,” All of Garcia’s comments are translated by the Yankee’s Dominican born translator Abreu.

Last year as the season was nearing an end, Garcia bombed out as he appeared to be tired. When questioned about it, he said: “When I was there, and I was pitching, I felt good physically,” Garcia said. “But at the same time, you have a lot of people looking at you with a lot of experience in the game. They’re pointing out, maybe I’m a little bit tired. But physically, I felt good.” He said he was very happy to be at camp and couldn’t wait to get started. “Super happy with the opportunity to be here in camp. I want to stay healthy and just make the team happy,” he said.

Yankee coaches and manager Aaron Boone will be watching Deivi very closely. He will probably not make the team, although it’s not out of the question. He will likely start the season with the Rail Riders. What the Yankees see from him during spring training and how he does at Scranton will tell if he plays at the Stadium this season. If the Yankees lose any pitchers to injury, Yankee fans may get to see Deivi Garcia pitch on the big stage this season.

Should the New York Yankees Acquire Kris Bryant?

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New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Kris Bryant

The off-season is finally coming to an end, and with baseball back there’s a lot to look forward to in 2020. With the emergence of young teams after a wild offseason, there’s certainly a lot of competition in the league. One of those teams that are presumed to be competing are the Chicago Cubs, who have been in some trade talks. After winning a case against their former MVP winning Kris Bryant that allows them to retain an extra year of control, it seems as if their relationship has been severely damaged. This has led to the Cubs talking to other teams about a deal involving their star third baseman. One of those teams involved? The New York Yankees, but would it make sense for them to land the star 3B?

New York Yankees’ 3B Situation

The New York Yankees are in a peculiar spot at 3B. They have youngster Miguel Andujar and breakout star Giovanni Urshela as their main 3B options. Urshela is 28 and Andujar is going to be 25 in March. These two both have good cases as to why they should start at 3B, but both. raise huge question marks. Urshela has only had one good season and Andujar’s expected stats show he may not be as good as he’s shown alongside his brutal defense. With 3B not being a weak point but not being a strong point either, should the Yankees bring in the star slugger?

Why They Should Trade For Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant is a talent that is rarely seen in the MLB, a 28 year old who’s a 3-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year winner, and MVP winner. His career totals of a .901 OPS, 139 wRC+, .383 wOBA, and 27.8 fWAR in 5 seasons are really good. He’s a certified superstar, and a top 10 3B in baseball. His defense is mediocre, with -1 DRS at 3B, but it’s better than Urshela’s career -4 DRS at 3B. He also runs a 28.2 ft/sec speed, which is good for the 78th percentile. Andujar is close in speed but still slightly slower and Urshela isn’t particularly fast. The New York Yankees would be upgrading a ton at 3B, and would have an answer at 3B who’s the total package.

Why They Shouldn’t Trade For Kris Bryant

The price for such a talent isn’t cheap, and not even just in the monetary aspect. The Chicago Cubs are going to ask for a fortune for the 3B, as they won’t trade a superstar for scraps. They’re looking for players who are either impact-now or soon to be MLB ready prospects. This isn’t a matter of sending a few prospects in A ball, this is going to be trading your prized prospects. Then there’s Bryant’s free agency, which is coming in 2 years. He’s going to ask for a contract most likely of the same value if not greater than Anthony Rendon. He isn’t going to be cheap to resign, and the Yankees would be adding another $30+ million dollar deal to their payroll, with their core pieces having their free agency impending too. This deal could cripple the New York Yankees financially, and is something that is definitely going to be heavily considered.

Trying To Make a Deal?

The deal for Kris Bryant wouldn’t be a small one, you’d have to send over some premium prospects in order to land Bryant. If the New York Yankees were to do it, the deal would look a lot like this:

New York Yankees Receive:

3B/OF Kris Bryant

Chicago Cubs Receive:

3B/1B/OF Miguel Andujar
OF Clint Frazier
OF Estevan Florial
RHP Deivi Garcia
RHP Michael King

This type of deal would send shockwaves across the MLB and would deplete the Yankees farm system quite a bit.

Would you make this deal if you were either team or is this a highway robbery?

New York Yankees: Likely Candidates to Replace James Paxton

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New York Yankees, J.A. Happ

James Paxton, the southpaw of the New York Yankees, will be out three to four months due to a surgery to remove a periodical cyst in his back (BleacherReport). Now with the German suspension of eighty games and Paxton’s injury, the Yankees are down to four starters to begin the 2020 season.

The Yankees, as of now, have Cole, Severino, Tanaka, and Happ as potential starters for their rotation. Cole and Severino will likely be one and two, Tanaka three, and Happ as the fourth starter. The Yankees also have the option of using an opener, such as Chad Green or Luis Cessa, to replace the injured Paxton.

A Few Options for Boone to Use in the Rotation

Jordan Montgomery

After a very limited season in 2019, Jordan Montgomery will now have a bigger role in the Yankees rotation this season. With the Paxton injury, he will need to round out the rotation and give at least five innings a start. Hopefully, the Yankees offense will put up around five runs a game to help the banged-up rotation gain confidence.

Deivi Garcia

The 20-year-old Yankees’ top pitching prospect may now see some time in the big leagues this year. With Triple-AAA Wilkes-Barre, Garcia went 1-3 and posted a 5.40 ERA in 40 innings (Baseball-Reference). The Yankees will monitor his progress in spring training, but will most likely be optioned to Double-AA Trenton to start the year.

Chad Green/Luis Cessa

The Yankees have two possible candidates in Chad Green and Luis Cessa to open games until German comes off suspension or Paxton fully heals from his injury. The Tampa Bay Rays have been very successful in using young arms to open games against the Yankees. Luckily, the Yankees have caught on to the openers trend in baseball and have two quality pitchers to fill that role.

Paxton’s potential success this season is now a little unclear, after going through this surgery. He was a tale of two different pitchers last season. In the first half of the year, he looked lost and a back of the rotation starter at best. In the second half of the year, he became the Yankees ace and placed second for team most valuable player behind LeMahieu.

This surgery has its pros and cons for Paxton’s outlook on this season. The pros are: he misses out on having a repeat of his performance in the first half of last year. The cons are: he leaves a hole in the rotation, he may not be the same pitcher when he comes back and is a free agent in the 2020-2021 offseason.

New York Yankees: 2 top prospective pitchers to watch during Spring Training

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New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

Pitchers and catchers report next week and New York Yankees fans can’t wait to see their new player, Gerrit Cole, pitching in a Yankee uniform. Luis Severino and James Paxton also bring excitement to fans as they’re also going to be a big key to the season this year.

Besides the obvious premier pitchers and relievers on the Yankee roster, there are a few prospective pitchers that should get Yankee fans excited as well.

Deivi Garcia

Once believed to be the New York Yankees’ savior when they lacked starting pitcher, Deivi Garcia no longer has that weight on his shoulders after the acquisition of Gerrit Cole. Garcia is one of the top-ranked prospects in the Yankee system and is believed to have a big shot at pitching in the big leagues this season.

Despite some concern with his control, Garcia has shown some serious talent. His best pitch is a high-spin rate curveball that devastates hitters when thrown properly and works his fastball in the mid to upper 90s. Brian Cashman has said that they’re going to take a close look at Garcia during Spring Training and possibly come out of the bullpen for the Yankees.

Albert Abreu

Someone who’s been in the Yankee system since 2017 after being traded from Houston, Albert Abreu might just have his debut season this year. He’ll most likely begin his season in triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders but will have a shot at maybe coming up for a few games.

Abreu has a high-velocity fastball that runs up to 97mph. He flashes a tight curveball and has a high swing-and-miss rate.

New York Yankees: Deivi Garcia, The Reliever

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New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

The New York Yankees might not have another prospect that draws as much debate as Deivi Garcia. The 20 year old pitcher has awed some people into believing he is going to be the next Pedro Martinez while he’s left others believing he’s a little overrated. Personally, I think he is a little overrated. However, let me be clear about something, Deivi Garcia is an extremely talented pitcher. He’s got a fastball that sits in the mid 90’s and he has one of the best curveballs in the minors. His curve has so much spin that it actually causes him to have some control issues from time to time. Garcia strikeouts a ton of batters never having a K/9 lower than 11.4 in his minor league career.

Causes for concern

One of the biggest drawbacks to Garcia is his lack of a third option. His changeup is coming along, but many scouts wonder if it’ll ever be even an average big league pitch. Another big drawback to Garcia is his size. Garcia is generously billed at 5’9 and weighs about 165 lbs soaking wet. His very small stature is causing a lot of scouts to pause on his potential fearing he doesn’t have the physical makeup to be a starter long-term. I tend to agree with that assertion. Does that mean that I want Deivi Garcia to be used as a trade chip? No, it doesn’t mean that at all. I just think the expectations for Garcia’s MLB impact need to be changed. Let’s start considering him as a top bullpen option and not a starter.

Pen potential

Deivi Garcia has electric stuff that will play great out of the bullpen. If the Yankees decided to transition Garcia to the bullpen, they wouldn’t even have to worry about the development of his third pitch. When you’re pitching out of the pen, you can focus on just letting your best two pitches fly. Of all the best relievers in baseball, very few throw more than two pitches. Hell, the greatest of all time only threw one pitch. Garcia’s fastball-curveball combination would be dynamite out of the pen. A lot of people (including myself) wanted the Yankees to look at trading Garcia for Josh Hader this offseason. However, my devil’s advocate argument for keeping Garcia is that he could develop into one of the best relievers in the sport if that’s the path that the Yankees go down. To me, they should start focusing their attention on making him a bullpen arm. There has already been rumblings that he will be called up to the show at some point in 2020. Barring a ton of injuries, I can’t see him being called up as a starter.

Crowded Rotation

The Yankees rotation is in very good shape right now. Cole and Severino are locked in the top two spots for at least the next three seasons. The Yankees will likely bring back one of if not both Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton after the 2020 season. The Yankees have an 18 game winner in Domingo German who expects to be a rotation piece moving forward, and the Yankees also have the big lefty, Jordan Montgomery, who is competing for a rotation spot. Along with those guys, the Yankees new top pitching prospect, Clarke Schmidt, projects to compete for a spot in the rotation over the next couple of seasons. Simply put, the Yankees rotation is crowded moving forward. With all these options, the Yankees should switch Garcia to the pen now instead of him getting lost in the weeds and diminishing his value. If he comes up and is lights out from the bullpen, the Yankees would then have a key pen piece for years to come which would allow them to say goodbye to some expensive bullpen pieces without skipping a beat. I’m warm on Garcia’s potential as a starter. I’m piping hot on his potential as a reliever for the Yankees moving forward. If the Yankees decide to transition him to the bullpen, I don’t think they will regret it.

New York Yankees: New Top Pitching Prospect

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A few weeks ago, I came under a little fire from New York Yankees fans when I wrote an article about Deivi Garcia being a little overrated. The New York Yankees hype machine has made some folks believe that the impressive 20-year-old is on his way to being the next Pedro Martinez. However, using the eye test and talking to a few scouts, I just didn’t see it from him. I personally think his future is in the bullpen, but that is another topic for a different day. One of the scouts that I spoke with told me that he really liked Clarke Schmidt a lot more than he liked Garcia. Schmidt was the Yankees first-round pick back in 2017, and the Yankees were fortunate to grab him with the sixteenth pick. Many around the industry felt that Schmidt had top ten pick stuff, but due to his Tommy John surgery, he fell down to the Yankees. The pick was seen as risky by some, but the Yankees took a chance on Schmidt, and it’s looking like that chance might just pay off.

Schmidt’s Impressive 2019

Clarke Schmidt jumped in the recent prospect rankings after a very impressive 2019 season in the minors. Rising all the way to AA, Schmidt posted a 6-5 record with a 3.47 ERA and striking out 102 batters in 90.2 innings across all levels in 2019. Schmidt was extremely impressive in his three starts at AA going 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA, striking out 19 batters in 19 innings. Schmidt jumped all the way into the top 100 baseball prospects for MLB.com coming in at 88th overall. Deivi Garcia dropped in these rankings to 92nd overall making Schmidt the top-ranked pitching prospect in the Yankees farm system according to MLB.com. However, it wasn’t just the MLB pipeline that ranked Schmidt ahead of Garcia. Baseball America also released its top prospects for the Yankees, and they also ranked Schmidt ahead of Garcia. Schmidt flashes a mid-90s fastball, and projects to have two above-average off-speed pitches in his changeup and slider. Garcia has electric stuff but mainly features a two-pitch mix and is tiny in stature while Schmidt stands 6’1 coming in at 200 lbs.

Down the line

Despite it sounding like it, I’m really not trying to downplay Deivi Garcia. Yes, I understand he’s 20, but I just don’t see top of the rotation talent with him. I do see him developing into a very dominant reliever where he can focus on accenting his fastball with his high level curve. Schmidt on the other hand, could very well join fellow South Carolina Gamecock Jordan Montgomery in the Yankees rotation down the line. Schmidt has the stuff, the stature, and all the makeups to be a solid middle of the rotation kind of arm that can slide right in behind Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino. If neither are used as trade chips, I really do think Schmidt and Garcia will be impactful Yankees for years to come. However, in my opinion only one of them will be impacting the Yankees from a spot in the starting rotation and that one is the Yankees new top pitching prospect, Clarke Schmidt.