miguel yajure

New York Yankees Recap: Cole hammered, Yankees lose to the Rays again

by
New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

Last night was another bad night for the New York Yankees. It seems they just can’t win a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Although the score wasn’t totally lopsided, the loss nevertheless was disturbing.  The Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was again hammered for more home runs.  What is most concerning is that this seems to be becoming a systemic problem.

At the bottom of the first inning, Cole put down his first two batters but then gave up a two-run long ball to Ji Man Choi, his third homer off Cole this season. At the bottom of the second, Kevin Kiermaier sent one to the second deck of the right field at the Tropicana Field, and the Yankees were three runs behind in just two innings.

Meanwhile, the Rays Tyler Glasnow, that earns one-eighteenth of the salary that Cole earns, held the New York Yankees hitless until the sixth inning. The entire run support that the Yankees got in the game, came via the home run. Gio Urshela had a solo shot in the seventh and Luke Voit had his thirteenth home run, which was a 2 run bomb to far left field, with DJ LeMahieu at first.  DJ was originally called out, but on review, it was overturned. Voit’s two-run shot made it 5-3 Rays.  Although the Yankees rallied in the eighth they still fell short and lost their fifth game in a row against the Rays.  For the Rays, they are now 4-0 at Yankees Stadium. Glasnow got the win, Cole the loss, and Castillo the save.  Final score Rays 5 and the Yankees 3.

Negative takeaways from the game:

It is beginning to become concerning that New York Yankee ace Gerrit Cole is giving up home runs, lot’s of them.  This year he has given up a home run in every start, for a total of 12 long balls.  In his first eight starts in 2019 for Houston, he gave up on eight. Cole has been subject to giving up homers throughout his career, but this year he is ahead of his own record. Another problem Cole is having is that he isn’t getting run support, something he can’t control.

Cole who was 20-5 last year with an ERA of 2.50 with the Astros, has an elevated ERA of 3.51, a full run more per game with the Yankees, and that has to be attributed mostly to the home run. Also, in his first eight games this year he has gotten 10 more runs of support than he did last year, in the first eight games. Last year he also got deeper into games, pitching one more inning per game.  Cole has struggled in all of his games, even the ones that he has won, and he is throwing more pitches as well.

The other problem that the Yankees are having, is that even though they are hitting home runs, they can’t get those knock out innings.  Without small ball play, and getting men on base, the home run is less impactful. The Yankees are now 4.5 games behind the East Divison.

Positive takeaways:

Gio Urshela is improving his batting average, and last night hit his sixth home run of the year. He continues his solid play and defense.  Luke Voit hit his 13th home run last night, and that ties Nelson Cruz of the Minnesota twins for the most home runs in all of baseball.

Last night, Miguel Yajure made his major league debut in relief of Gerrit Cole. The young man impressed and may become an important part of the bullpen going forward, for the Yankees, especially considering that they were unable to make a move to improve the bullpen, before the trade deadline yesterday.  The young man pitched three innings of hitless ball. He struck out two and walked three.

The Yankees will face the Rays again on Tuesday and Wednesday night.  It is extremely important that the Yankees win both of these remaining games, against the Rays.  If they do they will shorting the lead of the Rays, if they don’t, with only a little over three weeks left to the season, they may not be able to regain the lead.

 

New York Yankees Profile: Does RHP Miguel Yajure have a future with the Yankees?, It appears so

by
miguel yajure, New York Yankees

For the New York Yankees, Miguel Yajure seems on track to have a future with the Yankees, maybe not this year, but certainly in the future, if he continues to advance as he has.  The Yankees have made a surprising move, in calling up the 22-year-old Venezuelan, when he has never pitched in triple-A.  The call up may mean, he will see his Major League debut soon.

When calling up Yajure, he was assigned the number 89. As Bryan Hoch of MLB.com mentioned, the Yankees assigned Yajure with the uniform number 89. It’s the first time anybody has given that double-digit figure as featured on a roster during an on-record MLB game.

Eighty-nine was the lone remaining double-digit number that hadn’t been assigned to an MLB player until Thursday, when they gave the number to Yajure. If and when his makes his Major League debut, which may be Tuesday in Atlanta, he will be the first player to wear that number 89.

Even though Yajure never has pitched in Triple-A, and has just three games of Double-A experience, he owns very good numbers over his five minor-league seasons (2.47 ERA in 61 games, 54 starts), and had a tremendous 2019 season. Pitching for high-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton last year, he was 9-6 with a 2.14 ERA with 133 strikeouts and 30 walks in 138 2/3 innings over 24 outings, 20 as a starter.

The New York Yankees signed the then 18 year old Yajure in 2015.  The six foot one inch, 175 pounder got a $30,000 signing bonus.  Since then he has only been wonderful for the Yankees in the minor leagues. Being a young pitcher, he had Tommy John Surgery in 2017, so he already has had that far behind him, and it didn’t slow down his development.

A Yankee’s scout that has followed the Yankees farm system for years, had this to say about the still young pitcher:

“I’ve liked this kid for a couple years,” said a Major League scout who has followed the Yankees and their farm clubs for years. “He’s got a good arm. I saw him last year in Tampa and he was throwing 95 with some tail life to his fastball. He’s got a good curveball with some depth and he’s got a solid feel for the changeup.”

Miguel Yajure has a mid 90’s fastball, that is certainly not the hottest in the minors, but he augments it with a very good change up, and a decent 12 to 6 curveball.  His best pitch might be his 2019 developed cutter. In 2019 he used his Mariano Rivera-like cutter, to get final outs.

The New York Yankees have developed pitching problems this year, with only new pitching ace Gerrit Cole performing as expected.  James Paxton is on the IL along with Luis Severino who has had Tommy John surgery.  To add to that they don’t have last years best pitcher in Domingo German is out for the whole season, serving out his suspension for domestic violence.

Looking at the entire Yankee pitching situation, all other Yankee starters are pitching inconsitently. J.A. Happ has been horrible, and the others have shown signs of improved play at times.  Then lately the bullpen has suffered the loss of Tommy Kahnle and Zack Britton to injuries, leaving the Yankee short on both starters and relievers.

The Yankees see Miguel Yajure as a future number four or five starter for the team. But in this call up he may be able to get his feet warmed up as a middle reliever, facing major league hitting.  You can be sure, if he makes his major league debut on Tuesday, he will do the most he can to impress. We wish the young man nothing but success.

 

New York Yankees: Miguel Yajure receives the call of his life

by
miguel yajure, New York Yankees

Lost in all the hoopla of Zack Britton’s injury and Miguel Andujar’s demotion, the New York Yankees are actually promoting one of their very best pitching prospects on Thursday. They are calling up young right-handed pitcher Miguel Yajure, who will be making his major league debut whenever he gets in the field.

Yajure is 22 years old, and he hails from Venezuela. He had excellent numbers in minor league ball last year, compiling a 2.14 ERA, 1.075 WHIP, and 133/30 K/BB ratio in 138 2/3 innings (20 starts, four relief appearances) between High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton.

While he hasn’t pitched above Double-A yet, Yajure has some of the most electric stuff in the New York Yankees’ farm system and is highly regarded by prospect evaluators around the major leagues.

The Yankees have faith in Yajure

Yajure underwent the dreaded elbow reconstruction surgery, Tommy John, in 2017, but that is long in the rearview mirror. The 2019 season was his breakout year, as he showed a power fastball that sits in the mid-90s and could touch 96 or 97 mph if needed.

His curveball is regarded as a plus offering, and he has a good changeup and a decent cutter. His control is advanced for his year, and if he shows good command, he could be an option to stay in the Yankees’ active roster for a long time.

Yajure actually increased his velocity in the middle of the 2019 season. The New York Yankees protected him from being picked in last year’s Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster. Now, he is ready to rock.

Among the Yankees’ plethora of young arms that includes Luis Gil, Roansy Contreras, Luis Medina, Clarke Schmidt and company, he is viewed by many as the most promising long-term. Let’s see if manager Aaron Boone can give him some innings in his first major league stint.

You can see his arsenal here.

New York Yankees: The Future Looks Bright For These Three Youngsters

by
New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

The New York Yankees just released their summer camp rosters so let’s look and see who on the list we might see in Pinstripes one day. Three players come to mind.  All of them are pitchers. 

Let’s begin with the 20-year pitching machine Deivi Garcia (currently ranked 92nd on MLB’s top 100). Garcia has everyone talking about him and is closer than ever to getting his shot in the big leagues. He has a nasty arsenal of pitches with a screaming fastball and a knee-buckling curve ball. He has climbed up the minor league ladder quickly in the last 3 years and was the youngster most consistently in the spotlight this past Spring. Let’s look at the numbers. 

He started getting attention in 2018 when he put up an astonishing 1.27 ERA in 5 starts with the Tampa Tarpons. In mid-2018 he optioned to the Charleston River Dogs where he struggled in his first few starts but finished strong enough to be called up to the Trenton Thunder late that season. He had just one outing, but pitched a very productive 5 shutout innings.   

Garcia again received an invite to extended Spring Training with the Tampa Tarpons in 2019 where he finished with a 3.06 ERA over 17.2 innings. He was again called up to the Trenton Thunder and held his own finishing with a 3.86 ERA in 11 starts. 

Garcia made his Triple-A debut with the Rail Riders bullpen in late 2019. While he struggled in his first two starts there, he improved over time and ended with a 5.40 ERA.

He got his first invite to Spring Training in 2020. He finished with a 7.36 ERA after 7 innings pitched in a season cut short by COVID-19.  That was not the performance Garcia wanted, but the spotlight hasn’t shifted and the Yankees know he gets better with time. Despite his Spring Training performance, the higher-ups are expecting Garcia to positively impact the Yankees very soon.  At just 20-years old, he has plenty of time to do just that.  Look to see Deivi Garcia’s name in the big leagues at some point in the future. 

The next pitching stud that is opening eyes in the organization is 23-year old pitching phenom Clarke Schmidt (currently ranked 88th on MLB’s top 100). Schmidt is another player that’s climbed the Yankees ladder quickly after being drafted by the Yanks in 2018. Schmidt’s nasty breaking ball makes players whiff. 

The first rounder has surprised everyone in the organization with his quick development.  In 2018 he pitched in the Gulf Coast League and also played for the Staten Island Yankees. He finished the year with a 3.09 ERA in 23 innings.  With shockingly good numbers in 2018, he was invited to Tampa for extended Spring Training. He had great numbers with the Tarpons, finishing with a 3.84 ERA in 12 starts. He returned to the Gulf Coast League where he started three games finishing with a 3.24 ERA. From there, he was pulled up to Double-A to play with the Trenton Thunder. His time with the Thunder was short due to the late call-up, but he started 3 games and finished with a phenomenal 2.37 ERA leading to an invite to join the Yankees in Tampa for his first Spring Training. He was a member of the bullpen for the beginning of Spring Training and handled that adjustment with ease, finishing with a 2.57 ERA in 7 innings.

Schmidt looked great in Tampa and used his breaking ball effectively. Clarke Schmidt is definitely one of the names to watch in the future. 

The final stud on the list is 22-year old, right-handed pitcher, Miguel Yajure. There are higher ranked pitchers in the organization but I see something special with Miguel’s ability to dominate deep in counts and get players to swing and miss. Miguel has some nasty pitches in his arsenal.  During our recent interview, he told me he is most confident throwing his change-up. He is creeping up in the rankings and gaining recognition but still doesn’t get talked about enough. 

He has been with the Yankees since he was 17-years old and has improved every year. In 2018, started 14 games with the Charleston River Dogs and finished with a 3.90 ERA. He played the majority of his 2019 season with the Tampa Tarpons and pitched in 22 games (started in 18) and finished with an incredible 2.26 ERA in 127 innings of work. Heads were turning quickly and he was called up to Double-A to play with the Trenton Thunder. While he only started in 2 games he dominated both, finishing with a 0.86 ERA over 11 innings. Based on his performance in 2019, he was invited to join the Yankees down in Tampa for Spring Training where he pitched in 2 games, giving up 3 runs over 2.1 innings pitched. 

Yajure’s resume speaks for itself and he is really due to make some noise soon.  

All three pitchers are extremely talented and trending up in the rankings.  Don’t be surprised to see one or more in the Bronx soon. Their future truly looks bright!

New York Yankees Prospects: Miguel Yajure

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Another top pitching prospect that New York Yankees fans should be paying attention to is young Miguel Yajure. Yajure possesses one of the deepest pitching repertoires in the entire farm system and has pitched his way up to being the New York Yankee’s fourteenth ranked prospect. Yajure missed the 2017 season after getting Tommy John surgery, but Yajure has bounced back and then some since the surgery. Yajure features four pitches that are all at or above average. Yajure is the type of pitcher that is going to go right after hitters, but he’s not going to be able to overpower hitters with his fastball. Yajure has a fastball that sits in the 93-95 range, but he complements that pitch with his secondary offerings. He likes to throw his changeup a lot and has a decent 12-6 curveball which can keep hitters honest. The biggest weapon, in my opinion, is a pitch that he just started throwing in the last year and that was his cutter. Entering the 2019 season, Yajure didn’t feature the cutter, but that pitch proved to be one of the keys to a very successful 2019 campaign.

Impressive 2019

2018 was a really good year for Yajure coming off TJ surgery. Yajure was able to go 4-3 with a 3.90 ERA in 14 starts. All of his numbers took a significant jump in 2019. Showing off polished mechanics and a really good feel for all of his pitches, Yajure dominated the minors in 2019. In 24 games against Advanced A and Double-A competition, Yajure went 9-6 with a 2.14 ERA. Yajure was able to strike out just under nine batters per nine innings and had a very good WHIP of 1.07. Yajure has a really good command and goes right after hitters. He is not going to walk a ton of batters, and he’s able to produce a ton of weak contact. That cutter has really changed the whole outlook on Yajure. He loves to throw the pitch when he’s behind in counts because he has such good command of that pitch. When hitters are gearing up for a fastball, he throws his cutter which is able to generate a ton of weak contact which can get him out of jams. Yajure is pitching like a veteran pitcher in the minors and he displays a great feel for the game. While his name isn’t as sexy right now as Clarke Schmidt or Deivi Garica, his name is one to definitely keep your eyes on.

High Floor

While there might be more prospects in the system that have higher ceilings, there might not be as many prospects who have higher floors. MLB Pipeline says that the floor for Yajure at this point would be a 4-5 starter in a major league rotation. However, if he continues to progress down the path he’s heading, it’s not crazy to think he could be a 2-3 starter in a major league rotation. Whenever the season gets underway, I would like to see Yajure continue to develop his offspeed pitches to compliment his fastball and cutter. If he can keep those pitches progressing on the same path as his fastball and cutter, Yajure is the type of pitcher who can rise extremely quickly through the farm system. Definitely a player that New York Yankee fans should be paying attention to when the 2020 season gets underway.

New York Yankees prospect Miguel Yajure could force his way to the majors

by
New York Yankees

The New York Yankees seem to have a plentiful amount of young pitching prospects climbing the ranks as of late, with Deivi Garcia leading the pack and potentially becoming a relief option this season. Aside from Garcia, who has until August 31 to find his way to the majors, 21-year-old Miguel Yajure has been extremely impressive in High-A ball.

The New York Yankees have another good one rising through the ranks:

His recent stretch of dominance has been eye-opening, and it certainly has caught the attention of scouts in the Yankees minor-league network.

“And the best pitcher in the organization right now might be Miguel Yajure in Tampa,” the scout said, according to NJ.com.

Yajure has been extremely impressive with Tampa this season, reaching 97 mph on his fastball and earning a 2.15 ERA with an 8-6 record over 17 starters. His array of pitches and speed has produced plenty of weak contact hits and strikeouts. He has 119 strikeouts over about 121 innings, averaging 8.8 SO9.

“It’s been impressive,” High-A manager Aaron Holbert said in a phone interview of Yajure.

MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Yankees’ 27th ranked prospect, an interestingly low number considering his performance this season. We have to imagine that ranking will improve in 2020.

Holbert also stated:

“He gets out there and commands the strike zone and is unafraid to pitch to either side of the plate. A huge plus is that his velo has spiked up. He touched 97 his last time out. And he’s able to mix in a plus curve, a plus changeup as well as a nice little cutter to keep guys from leaning out over the plate.”

With MLB-quality speed on his fastball and his ability to work the plate, Yajure could be a reliable option moving forward, if not in the bullpen this season than indeed next year after the retirement of CC Sabathia. The Venezuelan pitcher will be Rule 5 Draft eligible this upcoming offseason, which means the Yanks must put him on the 40-man roster.