The New York Yankees learned late this week that they would
be without right-handed pitching prospect James Kaprielian for the entire 2017
season and some of the 2018 season as well after the righty decided to undergo
Tommy John surgery on his elbow. The ulnar collateral ligament surgery is just
the latest blow to the arm of Kaprielian who also missed basically all of last
season with a strained elbow flexor muscle leaving the Yankees once again short-handed
in the pitching depth department… or are they? Let’s take a look at some of the
possible reinforcements and the way the Yankees pitching prospects as a whole
stack up now that Kaprielian is out of the picture once again for 2017.
We’ll start with the immediate reinforcements just in case a
Yankees starter struggles or, god forbid, gets hurt. You have to think that
list starts with Bryan Mitchell, who is already in the team’s bullpen, and ends
with Double-A prospect Chance Adams. In between you have the likes of Chad
Green and Luis Cessa because of their MLB experience and the fact that both are
already on the 40 man roster but I truly think Chance will be up in the Majors
at some point this season. Adams and Jordan Montgomery are going to create one hell
of a tandem for opposing teams going forward, especially if Luis Severino
pitches like he did Thursday afternoon in the Bronx. The future is soon and the
future is now all at the same time in the Bronx and those are exciting words to
mutter.
Beyond the immediate reinforcements there are a few high-end
arms the Yankees are currently grooming to eventually follow to the Bronx. That
list starts with Justus Sheffield, the left-handed starter the team acquired
from the Cleveland Indians in the Andrew Miller trade last season, and
continues on with Albert Abreu, the prized pitching prospect the Yankees got
back in the Brian McCann trade with the Houston Astros this winter. Domingo
Acevedo, the big right-handed arm that can hit and top 100 MPH consistently with
his fastball, is another big pitching prospect in the Yankees plans for the
future while Nolan Martinez, a recent draft pick out of High School who is
currently working his way through extended spring training, is opening the eyes
of a lot of Yankees executives and scouts with a 92 MPH fastball and a great
curveball at just 18-years old.
Another couple of intriguing arms the Yankees have at their
disposal going forward are Jonathan Holder, currently pitching out of the
Yankees bullpen where he spent much of his collegiate career although the
Yankees did try him out as a starter in the Minor Leagues with great success,
while Ian Clarkin, the man who was drafted in the same draft and round as Aaron
Judge back in 2013, is slowly making his way through the Yankees system after a
Tommy John surgery and a torn meniscus slowed his development a bit. Clarkin is
still a bit off but an ETA of around September 2018 may not be completely out
of the question.
I'm also looking forward to Chance & Montgomery going forward. It's a big relief to see what we have & what could be, especially when the FA class in the next few years doesn't give me much hope, with the exception of Otani. Sevy, Chance, Jordan, Sheffield & Acevedo I pray will be successful Yankee mainstays.
ReplyDeleteIt may come to pass, we may not need to go out and get a pitcher for next year. I need not remind anyone the stance I had on the pitchers we had coming up. This is not to say Severino, Jordan, C. Adams, Mitchell, Green and more yet will become top guns but, there is a lot of talent in "them thar arms"!
ReplyDeleteWE could have a great team very soon IF the team ends up playing as we have seen so far this year. The pitching has shown up and with the hitting and defense this team is showing what "COULD BE", not what it will be this year, I know as most every FAN knows...it is a long long year, and anything can (and will) happen! Let's hope these new guys are the real thing.
This team has one hell of a lot of great talent all across the system.