I have to say and admit on this Saturday morning that I am a
tad bit depressed and down-and-out today for obvious reasons. The Yankees
losing that series to the Dodgers in the Bronx hurt, especially after sticking
around late in the third game only to throw the game, literally, but not as
much as that loss in Boston hurt on Thursday night. I’m far from giving up hope
but I have to admit I have been looking ahead a little more, at least in my
writing, to the 2017 season than I should including this post which will
hopefully showcase the Yankees starting pitching options for next season.
The rotation locks seem to be ace Masahiro Tanaka, CC
Sabathia the final year of his contract and Michael Pineda unless he’s traded
this offseason leaving New York with two gaping holes or two opportunities for
the youth movement to continue and spread, whichever way you want to look at
it. Who can fill those slots?
I think Luis Cessa has done enough to convince the Yankees
to try him out in the rotation, hasn’t he? I mean as a starter the guy has been
great. Sure, Cessa has been a bit too prone to the home run but he has kept the
Yankees in every game he has started and only has one loss to his credit coming
into the weekend series with Boston. I think Cessa has done enough to warrant
at least an extended look in the rotation next season even as a fifth starter
leaving a whole lot of options and potentially just one roster spot for all of
them to fight over.
Who would fight for that last spot? Chad Green should be
healthy and ready to go in spring training while Luis Severino and Bryan
Mitchell should also go down to the final weekend of spring training fighting
for either a bullpen spot or a starting rotation spot but there are a few names
that may sneak up on you between now and March. Names like Chance Adams who
will finish the season in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder, James Kaprielian
who finished the season on the Triple-A disabled list, Jordan Montgomery who we
showcased this morning in the weekly prospects check in, and Dietrich Enns who
needs to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft anyway this offseason.
I went out on a limb and predicted that Adams would be the
first draft pick from the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft to hit the Major Leagues
last year but that was when he was a relief pitcher. Adams has since been
converted to a starting pitcher and has done exceptionally well this season
with the Tampa Yankees and Trenton Thunder. At just 22-years old Adams may not
start the year in the Yankees rotation, he’ll likely start back in Double-A or
get the bump to Triple-A, but by about June or July he could be ready to make
an impact in a big way for the Yankees.
We touched on Montgomery earlier in our weekly showcase post
but I couldn’t make a post about the potential 2017 arms for New York without
mentioning him. Montgomery began the season in Double-A with the Trenton
Thunder and has ended his season in Triple-A with the RailRiders and combined
to pitch to a 2.13 ERA with an 8.7 K/9 ratio in 139.1 innings. Montgomery will
likely be back in Triple-A to begin the 2017 season but with injuries and the
unknown I won’t be the one to count him out of the running for the last
rotation spot next season. He’s that good.
The Yankees have a slew of arms that need to be protected
from the Rule 5 Draft in 2017 and atop the list may be Dietrich Enns. Enns
broke out in a big way last year and while he has continued to pitch
exceptionally well in 2017 many scouts believe he is destined to be a spot
starter or long reliever in the Major Leagues. The problem is I read those
exact same things about Luis Cessa and Chad Green when Brian Cashman traded for
them last winter so again, I’m not going to be the one to count him out.
The final arm we can discuss is a name we discussed in full
detail at the beginning of the 2016 season, James Kaprielian. Kaprielian was
expected to make his MLB debut in 2016 but an elbow injury ended his season
prematurely. It is thought that the Yankees will send him to the Arizona Fall
League to get some innings in hopes of having him ready for the 2017 season.
For that reason alone it seems unlikely that Kaprielian will break camp with
the club but if he can make his return in the AFL and pitch lights out in
Spring Training he may be driving the Scranton Shuttle in 2017. Just a thought.
So there you have it, spring training 2017 should be fun
shouldn’t it? So many serviceable and talented arms and simply not enough
rotation spots to fill them all. That’s the best problem to have. I’m not
looking ahead though, I still have my eyes on the prize in 2016 but it’s still
fun to take a peak around the curtain labeled 2017 every once in a while
anyway.
Aye depression. What stings most is we were crushing a week ago, and lost 3 games over nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThe injuries to our pitchers this season concerns me for next year. I have faith in the field. Fingers crossed that some of these guys that light up AAA with a 1.5 era can grow a pair and do something meaningful in new York.
I'm going into hard baseball hibernation soon, this has been a taxing season and I need a break! Casual Fandom has it easy!
I think we'll all be in hibernation by October 5th to be honest.
DeleteHey, guys,
ReplyDeleteI think we have the answer for our BP in 2917+ many more years!
Domingo Acevedo and Cale Coshow in the bullpen is a wonder to behold.
Both have gotten starting gigs this year but we have a few guys that can do the starting job. Most of our pitchers last anywhere from 4 to 6 innings (as pointed out by many) of course with Green and Kaprielian plus others to fill those spots. Maybe with more Big League work for a year or two one of them will make the change to a starter but I think they could make a case for themselves in 2017 for the BP. "Ace" could end up as a starter as well as Cale but either one could be a closer...maybe, in 2017 or 2018 letting Dellin go back to the 7th or 8th inning.
I finally had a chance to see both of them this year, I liked what I saw but, it was only one game each.