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River Ave. Blues » Jonathan Loaisiga

DotF: Domingo German injured in Scranton’s doubleheader

July 26, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

MLB.com released their midseason top 100 prospects list and team top 30 prospects lists today. The Yankees have four top 100 prospects: LHP Justus Sheffield (No. 28), OF Estevan Florial (No. 47), RHP Jonathan Loaisiga (No. 77), and RHP Albert Abreu (No. 79). OF Billy McKinney dropped off the list after being traded for J.A. Happ this afternoon. RHP Glenn Otto, who had surgery to remove a blood clot from his shoulder earlier this year, slides onto the list at No. 30 in McKinney’s place.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Game One (5-4 win over Columbus) completion of the game that was suspended with two outs in the bottom of the third Tuesday, then again after the top of the fifth yesterday

  • SS Abi Avelino: 1-5, 1 R, 2 K
  • 1B Tyler Austin: 0-4, 2 K
  • RF Billy McKinney: 0-2, 1 R, 2 BB — he was essentially traded between doubleheader games today
  • DH Mike Ford: 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB — he hit the home run in the original game Tuesday night
  • CF Shane Robinson: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB — he was called up to take Brandon Drury’s spot on the roster, so he was a minor leaguer and a big leaguer in the same day
  • RHP Chance Adams: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 3/2 GB/FB — 31 of 57 pitches were strikes (54%) … he started the original game Tuesday before the rain
  • RHP Raynel Espinal: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 0/4 GB/FB — 42 of 63 pitches were strikes (67%) … he pitched yesterday, in the middle portion of this twice suspended game
  • LHP Stephen Tarpley: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 6/0 GB/FB — 21 of 31 pitches were strikes (68%) … he “started” the completion of the game today

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm Tagged With: Albert Abreu, Domingo German, Estevan Florial, Glenn Otto, Jonathan Loaisiga, Justus Sheffield, Prospect Lists

2018 Midseason Review: The Rotation

July 18, 2018 by Domenic Lanza Leave a Comment

Tanaka and Severino. (Mike Stobe/Getty)

It is kind of incredible how good the Yankees rotation has been despite a laundry list of injuries (spoiler alert: three of the starting pitchers discussed below are or were on the disabled list) and the usual off-season/pre-season question marks. They rank:

  • 5th in GB%
  • 5th in soft contact percentage
  • 6th in fWAR
  • 6th in park-adjusted FIP
  • 11th in K%
  • 12th in BB%
  • 12th in park-adjusted ERA

It’s not an elite group, to be sure – but it’s nonetheless a strength when a pitching staff is average across the board. And it’s especially nice to see for a team that purportedly tried and failed to improve throughout the off-season, and remains ever-vigilant as the trade deadline approaches.

Let’s take a look at how the individual parts measure-up.

Domingo German

(Tom Szczerbowski/Getty)

Midseason Grade: D

It would be easy to look at German’s numbers as a starter and settle on an ‘F’ for his grade. There are several ugly peripherals in those 63.1 IP, including a 5.97 ERA (6th worst among starters with at least 60 IP), 4.58 FIP, and 1.71 HR/9, and he has failed to make it out of the fifth in three of his last four starts. That’s not great, Bob.

But we’re grading relative to expectations here, and I don’t think the expectations for the team’s 6th or 7th starter were all that high. Moreover, there are a lot of positives hidden in German’s season, too. His 26.6% strikeout rate is well above-average, his 8.4% walk rate is right around average, and his 41.7% groundball rate is right there, too. He’s also authored five quality starts (in twelve chances), and had another two that were just shy of that not-so-lofty standard.

Does that make up for his five starts that ranged from “bad” to “awful?” Not at all. But I do think that the combination of his slot on the depth chart, strong peripherals, and fifty-fifty shot of giving the team an adequate outing brings him above the standard of a failure.

Going forward, there are two things to pay attention to with German. The first is simple: his velocity.

He has lost about 2 MPH off of his fastball from the beginning of the season, which isn’t too shocking as he spent the first month in the bullpen. At the same time, though, he’s lost just over 1 MPH since he first joined the rotation on May 6 – and fastball velocity tends to increase as the season goes on and the weather warms up. It’s not necessarily a concern at this point, but it’s there.

The other is German’s pitch use in general. Fastballs (his four-seamer and sinker) represented 40.6% of his offerings in May, 47.6% in June, and 55.9% so far in July. With his velocity backing up a bit and three of his last four starts being bad, German’s pitch selection may well be an issue.

Sonny Gray

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

Midseason Grade: F

I was excited when the Yankees swung their deal for Gray last July, as a long-term believer in his approach, stuff, and resume. And I was certain that he was going to come into 2018 looking more like the pitcher that they dealt for (that is, the guy we saw with the A’s in the first-half) than the nibbler that the Yankees received. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, and Gray is sitting on a 5.46 ERA (88th out of 92 pitchers with 90-plus IP).

There really isn’t a positive way to spin Gray’s season to-date, either. He has seven quality starts in eighteen outings, and has failed to make it out of the fifth seven times. He’s allowed four-plus runs eight times, and he’s just barely averaging 5 IP per start – both of which make him a larger drain on the bullpen than the other starters. Gray may not be the worst starter in the league right now, but he’s fairly close when you focus on pitchers who have been in the rotation the entire season.

If I had to hazard a guess at the cause of this, I would focus on his pitch selection. Or, perhaps more accurately, the anti-fastball approach of the Yankees in general.

Gray is throwing fewer four-seamers than ever before, and more curves and sliders. From 2014 through 2017, he averaged about 35% four-seamers and 30% breaking balls; in 2018, those numbers are 26.7% and 39%, respectively. That’s a fairly drastic change of approach, and that sequencing could undoubtedly cause issues.

At least he ended the first-half on a high note.

Jonathan Loaisiga

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

Midseason Grade: Incomplete

Loaisiga is one of the better stories of the Yankees season, having made his way back from multiple injuries to dominate four levels of the minors between 2017 and 2018, and making the jump from Double-A to the majors in mid-June. He has alternated good starts with bad so far, but the sum of his parts has been fantastic – he has a 28.4% strikeout rate, 60.0% groundball rate, 3.00 ERA, and 2.87 FIP. It’s only eighteen innings, but it’s encouraging. And, when you see the way his pitches move, it’s not surprising that folk haven’t been able to hit him with authority just yet. Just look at that change-up:

FILTHY 89mph Changeup from Jonathan Loaisiga.

This guy is nasty. pic.twitter.com/QyN4WcIY3I

— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) June 15, 2018

That’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it?

It was short-lived, though, as he had to have a cortisone shot in his shoulder, and is currently shut-down. We knew that he was on some manner of innings limit, considering that he didn’t pitch at all in 2014 or 2015 due to injuries, and tossed a combined 35.0 IP between 2016 and 2017 around Tommy John surgery – but seeing him go down with shoulder inflammation isn’t what you want.

Jordan Montgomery

(Elsa/Getty)

Midseason Grade: Incomplete

The Yankees were only able to enjoy six starts from Montgomery this year, as the 25-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in June. Those six starts were 27.1 innings of 3.62 ERA ball, which is quite good … but that’s all that they’ll get from him until sometime next Summer.

If you’re looking for some semblance of a silver lining here, it is worth noting that Montgomery had no prior injury history of note, and they didn’t play the waiting game with rest and rehabilitation. Surgery isn’t great, to be sure, but if it’s a necessity, sooner is better than later.

CC Sabathia

(Al Bello/Getty)

Midseason Grade: A

Is an ‘A’ somewhat aggressive here? Maybe. But it’s difficult to be anything other than impressed by how successful Sabathia’s reinvention has been. His 3.51 ERA is his lowest since 2012, and he has held the opposition to three or fewer runs in 66% of his starts. With the exception of Luis Severino, no Yankees starter has kept the team in a better position to win than Sabathia.

Are there issues with Sabathia’s season? Sure. He spent two weeks on the disabled list in April, and he’s routinely shelled when he has to turn the lineup over for a third time (when opposing batters hit .359/.404/.644) – but his overall numbers speak for themselves. As does his pitch selection:

Sabathia has all but eliminated his four-seamer at this point in his career, and he’s also throwing his sinker far less often this season. As per Brooks Baseball, there have been eleven starts in which Sabathia hasn’t used a single four-seamer, including his last four outings. Cutters and sliders make up more than 70% of his offerings, and that mix was worked wonders thus far.

The All-Star break was well-timed for the soon to be 38-year-old, as he has scuffled in his last two starts. He’ll have nine days of rest by the time he gets the call, and he has thrived on extra rest this year, posting a 1.59 ERA in his six starts with six-plus days of rest. At his age, it would make sense for the Yankees to continue to give him as much extra rest as possible; whether or not they’re able to is the question.

Luis Severino

(Tom Szczerbowski/Getty)

Midseason Grade: A+

I’m going to present a series of MLB rankings for Severino, as I think that illustrates the greatness of his season better than any narrative can. He ranks:

  • 4th in ERA+
  • 5th in bWAR
  • 5th in FIP
  • 7th in fWAR
  • 7th in ERA
  • 7th in IP
  • 9th in WHIP
  • 10th in strikeouts
  • 10th in K-BB%
  • 11th in K%

In addition to those lofty placements, he has also completed at least five innings in all twenty starts, and has only allowed more than three runs twice. He’s a bona fide ace, through and through.

Severino did stumble into the break a bit, allowing 7 runs in his last two starts of the half, so he’ll almost certainly appreciate the extra rest afforded by the break. His next start isn’t until July 23, so he’ll have had ten days of rest (not including the All-Star game) when he takes the mound.

And, for what it’s worth, he had a fun All-Star game, catching Aaron Judge’s home run, and striking out Bryce Harper and Brandon Crawford:

I’m so glad that he’s a Yankee.

Masahiro Tanaka

(Jason Miller/Getty)

Midseason Grade: D

Last year was by far the worst of Tanaka’s short career, but it can be split up into manageable sample sizes. His ERA sat at 6.34 on Father’s Day last year, and fans were beginning to loudly wonder if the team would be better off with Tanaka opting out. And then a switch went on, and he was great the rest of the way. From June 23 through the end of the season, Tanaka pitched to a 3.54 ERA in 101.2 IP, with very good peripherals. That success carried over into the playoffs (and then some), as he posted a microscopic 0.90 ERA in 20 IP.

And then the calendar flipped to 2018, and the wheels fell right back off.

In addition to his 4.54 ERA (which is a tick below-average, translating into a 95 ERA+), Tanaka has bottomed-out in walk, ground ball, and home run rates, posting career-worsts across the board. His 4.90 FIP is the worst of his career, too. Now, to be fair, he’s not as bad as he was in the first half of 2017 – so there’s that.

The problem with Tanaka is easily identified – his propensity for home runs. He’s allowing more fly balls than ever this year, which means he’s allowing gopher balls at a career-worst pace of 1.94 per 9 innings. That’s the fifth-worst home run rate in the game, and that’s why he’s allowed 18 bombs in just 83.1 IP. And, for the sake of comparison, every pitcher that has allowed more has also thrown at least 18 additional innings.

One interesting note: Tanaka’s improvements last year seemingly coincided with more splitters and sliders, and sinkers being traded out in favor of four-seamers. That trend has continued to the extreme this season:

Could that have something to do with his gopheritis? Perhaps.

I was almost inclined to go with an ‘F’ for all of this, but Tanaka has at least given the Yankees some length in his starts, and he’s a league-average-ish starter. That’s not what you want from a pitcher on his contract, but he hasn’t been a straight-up dud like Gray.

Filed Under: Players Tagged With: 2018 Midseason Review, CC Sabathia, Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray

Games 88 & 89: Let’s Play Two

July 9, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Rob Carr/Getty)

Welcome to the final week of the first half. Because the weather was unkind to the Yankees earlier this season, they have to play eight games in seven days this week before enjoying the All-Star break. Today the Yankees have a single admission doubleheader against the Orioles. The two teams are making up their May 31st rainout today.

If you’re going to play four games in three days, might as well play them against the Orioles, who positively stink. They’re 24-65 and on pace for 118 losses, and they rank 29th in runs scored per game and 28th in runs allowed per game. Any team can beat any other team on any given day in this game though. Win the first game then focus on the second game. You’ve got to win the first one before you can think about a sweep. Here are the lineups for the first game of today’s doubleheader:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. LF Clint Frazier
6. 1B Neil Walker
7. 3B Brandon Drury
8. C Kyle Higashioka
9. 2B Tyler Wade

LHP CC Sabathia

Baltimore Orioles
1. 3B Tim Beckham
2. CF Adam Jones
3. SS Manny Machado
4. DH Mark Trumbo
5. 2B Jonathan Schoop
6. RF Danny Valencia
7. LF Joey Rickard
8. 1B Trey Mancini
9. C Caleb Joseph

RHP Jimmy Yacabonis


Nice and sunny in Baltimore today. Going to have great weather all week. Much better than the last time the Yankees visited Camden Yards. The first game of today’s doubleheader will begin at 4:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. The second game will begin approximately 30 minutes after the first game ends and that one will be on YES as well. Enjoy the games.

Injury Update: Gary Sanchez (groin) went through agility drills again and will take batting practice on the field with the team this week. Aaron Boone said Sanchez could begin a minor league rehab stint in the coming days, though it sounds like Gary won’t return before the All-Star break. Bummer … Aroldis Chapman (knee) is available today, though I’d bet against him (or anyone) pitching in both games … the Yankees are sending one of their trainers to the All-Star Game with Gleyber Torres (hip) so he can continue his rehab work … Jonathan Loaisiga (shoulder) received a cortisone shot. An MRI revealed inflammation, no structural damage, but Johnny Lasagna is going to be down a few weeks. Sucks.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Gio Gallegos. He is the 26th man for today’s doubleheader. That means someone will have to go down after the first game so Luis Cessa, the second game starter, can be added to the roster. Drury or Frazier are good guesses. The Yankees can’t make Gallegos the 26th man for the first game and Cessa the 26th man for the second game. It doesn’t work like that. Someone’s going down and Cessa’s coming up, then Cessa will presumably go back down after the game so the Yankees can activate Masahiro Tanaka off the disabled list for tomorrow’s start. Got all that?

Update (7:36pm ET): The Yankees annoyingly dropped the first game of today’s doubleheader. The second game is going to start pretty much any minute now. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. DH Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. RF Giancarlo Stanton
5. 1B Greg Bird
6. 3B Miguel Andujar
7. LF Clint Frazier
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Neil Walker

RHP Luis Cessa

Baltimore Orioles
1. 3B Tim Beckham
2. 2B Jonathan Schoop
3. SS Manny Machado
4. DH Mark Trumbo
5. 1B Chris Davis
6. RF Danny Valencia
7. LF Jace Peterson
8. CF Joey Rickard
9. C Chance Cisco

RHP Yefry Ramirez


Roster Moves Part Deux: Drury was sent to Triple-A Scranton to clear a roster spot for Cessa, the Yankees say. I figured that was coming.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Aroldis Chapman, Brandon Drury, Gary Sanchez, Gio Gallegos, Gleyber Torres, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa

Game 86: Trade Target

July 7, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Bob Levey/Getty)

So the Yankees need another starting pitcher. That has been true since the offseason and it is extra true now with Sonny Gray among the least effective starters in baseball. Masahiro Tanaka is coming back next week, so that’s good, but Jordan Montgomery is done for the year. The Yankees need at least one starter. Two would be cool.

One starter they’re said to be considering: J.A. Happ, who they’ll face this afternoon. Happ has a 4.03 ERA (3.64 FIP) on the season — it was a 3.62 ERA (3.58 FIP) before getting rocked last time out — and he’s faced the Yankees once this season. He couldn’t complete five innings against them on Opening Day, you may remember. Beat up on Happ, win the game, and drive down the trade price. Sounds good to me. Here are today’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. DH Giancarlo Stanton
4. CF Aaron Hicks
5. 3B Miguel Andujar
6. SS Didi Gregorius
7. 2B Brandon Drury
8. C Kyle Higashioka
9. 1B Greg Bird

RHP Luis Severino

Toronto Blue Jays
1. LF Curtis Granderson
2. 2B Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
3. 3B Yangervis Solarte
4. 1B Justin Smoak
5. DH Kendrys Morales
6. CF Kevin Pillar
7. RF Randal Grichuk
8. C Luke Maile
9. SS Aledmys Diaz

LHP J.A. Happ


It is another spectacular day in Toronto, so the Rogers Centre roof will be open. This afternoon’s game will begin at 4:07pm ET and YES will have the broadcast. Enjoy the game.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Clint Frazier. He was called up today and David Hale was designated for assignment. Figured that was coming. Hale pitched too much last night. I suspect he’ll once again clear waivers and sign a new minor league contract with the Yankees. It would be the fourth time they’ve signed him this year.

Injury Updates: Gary Sanchez (groin) caught a bullpen session today and has done everything (catch, hit, throw, etc.) except run the bases, which he should be cleared to do soon. He could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week and it’s possible he’ll come off the disabled list before the All-Star break. That’d be sweet … Jonathan Loaisiga was placed on the Triple-A disabled list with shoulder inflammation, the team announced. That bites. He’s going for more tests. That rules Loaisiga out for a start in Monday’s doubleheader. Luis Cessa will start the second game instead.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Clint Frazier, David Hale, Gary Sanchez, Jonathan Loaisiga

Yankeemetrics: Bronx fireworks spark Bombers (July 2-4)

July 5, 2018 by Katie Sharp Leave a Comment

(New York Post)

Choking, silent bats
Monday’s 5-3 loss in the series opener was one of the most frustrating losses of the season, as the Yankees wasted numerous scoring chances and repeatedly failed to bring runners home in key situations. They were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, their most hitless at-bats with RISP this season.

Jonathan Loaisiga flashed some dominant off-speed stuff (career-high 13 combined whiffs on his curve and changeup) but really struggled to put away batters. Four of the five hits (including two doubles and the homer) he gave up came with two strikes; in his first three starts, batters were 7-for-35 (.200) with two strikes against Loaisiga.

Aaron Judge gave the Yankees an early lead when he poked an 0-2 cutter over the wall in right field. With a projected distance of 340 feet, it was the second-shortest home run Judge has hit; the only shorter one was a 337-foot shot on May 2 last year. It was also his 12th homer in a two-strike count this season, the most in MLB and two more than any other player through Monday.

Gleyber Torres was only other offensive star with a career-high three hits and two runs scored. At age 21 years and 201 days, he was the youngest Yankee with a three-hit game at Yankee Stadium since a 19-year-old Bobby Murcer on September 25, 1965.

One of those hits was his 10th career double, making him just the third Yankee with at least 10 doubles and 15 homers in his age-21 season or younger. The others? You guessed it, Mickey Mantle (1952, 1953) and Joe DiMaggio (1936). Even more impressive (maybe), he is the only rookie second baseman age 21 or younger in MLB history to hit at least 10 doubles and 15 homers in a season.

David Robertson wore the goat’s horns, coughing up the game-winning homer to Ronald Acuna in the top of the 11th. It was the first dinger Robertson had allowed to a right-handed batter since re-joining the Yankees last summer; Acuna was the 170th righty he had faced in that span.

(USA Today)

Survive and advance
Although it might have been the ugliest win of the season, Tuesday’s 8-5 victory still counts the same as the others and — most importantly — helped the Yankees keep pace with the equally scorching-hot Red Sox in the division race.

The Yankees sprinted out to a 6-0 lead thanks to the good ol’ power/patience formula. Aaron Hicks put the Yankees on board in the first inning with a two-run blast, his 15th homer of the season, matching the career-high he set last year. He is the fifth Yankee to hit 15 dingers in 2018, the only team in MLB with that many 15-homer players this year. This is the first Yankee team ever to have five players hit at least 15 homers before the All-Star break.

Kyle Higashioka extended the lead to 3-0 with his second career homer — and second career hit — in the second inning. He became the third player in franchise history to have his first two MLB hits go over the fence, joining Alfonso Soriano (1999-2000) and Joe Lefebvre (1980). Before joining the Yankees last week, he was slugging .328 at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which ranked 177th out of 198 players with at least 200 PA across all Triple-A leagues this season.

The Yankees scored two more runs in the third inning without a hit, walking five times, including twice with the bases loaded. It was their ninth and 10th bases loaded walks of the season, tied with the Diamondbacks for the most in the majors. They had just seven bases-loaded walks all of last year.

And it was the first time in more than seven years they scored two runs in an inning without getting a hit or reaching on an error, since the third inning of a game against the White Sox on April 28, 2011.

Miguel Andujar reached another milestone when he doubled in the fifth inning, his 40th career extra-base hit. He is the third Yankee to compile 40 extra-base hits in their first 78 career games, along with Bob Meusel and Joe DiMaggio.

Giancarlo Stanton joined the milestone party in the eighth inning with his 20th longball of the year, the ninth time in nine MLB seasons he hit 20 or more homers. He’s the 11th player in MLB history to go deep at least 20 times in each of their first nine major-league seasons, joining this elite group:

Mark Teixeira
Albert Pujols
Darryl Strawberry
Eddie Murray
Frank Robinson
Eddie Mathews
Ralph Kiner
Ted Williams
Joe DiMaggio
Bob Johnson

Happy Fourth of July in the Bronx
The Yankees celebrated Independence Day in style, beating the Braves 6-2 behind a solid effort from CC Sabathia and a dose of power from their relentlessly deep lineup.

Sabathia was in vintage form and delivered another gutsy performance, giving up just two runs in six innings despite putting 10 of the 27 batters he faced on base. At the midpoint of 2018, his ERA is 3.02, on pace to be the second-best by any pitcher in franchise history in his age-37 season or older (min. 25 starts), behind only Spud Chandler’s 2.10 in 1946.

Giancarlo Stanton homered for the second straight day, giving him five homers in his last 11 games at Yankee Stadium; he had six homers in his first 34 home games. Kyle Higashioka lived up to his John Sterling nickname (Kyle Higashioka, the Home Run Stroker!) when he went deep again for his third career homer — and third career hit. He is the ninth player since 1920 to have each of his first three career hits be homers — the only other Yankee on the list is Alfonso Soriano.

Aaron Judge capped off the dinger fireworks with a moonshot in the seventh inning …

The poor baseball left his bat at an angle of 45 degrees, the highest home run of Judge’s career. In the Statcast era (since 2015), only two other Yankees have hit homers with a higher launch angle: Mark Teixeira (48 degrees on July 3, 2016) and Ji-Man Choi (46 degrees on July 7, 2017).

Filed Under: Analysis Tagged With: Aaron Judge, Atlanta Braves, CC Sabathia, David Robertson, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Jonathan Loaisiga, Kyle Higashioka, Miguel Andujar, Yankeemetrics

Jonathan Loaisiga’s workload and a plan for the rest of 2018

July 3, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

Last night neophyte right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga made his fourth big league start, and he labored but didn’t crumble. In two of his four starts he pitched very well and put up zeroes. In the other two he ran long counts and struggled to put hitters away. He looked like an inexperienced kid making the jump straight from Double-A, because that’s what he is.

Following last night’s game the Yankees sent Loaisiga down to Triple-A Scranton — A.J. Cole will be activated off the disabled list to fill the roster spot — which is a pretty good indication Masahiro Tanaka will rejoin the rotation soon. Overall, Loaisiga looked impressive in his four-start cameo, though I think the need for more minor league seasoning is fairly obvious. He’ll be back soon enough.

The good news is Loaisiga showed that, if (and, inevitably, when) the Yankees need another spot starter later in the season, he’s up to the task. The bad news is Loaisiga doesn’t have many innings to give this season. Prior to yesterday’s game Aaron Boone told Jack Curry that the Yankees think Loaisiga can give them “north of 100 innings” this season. That’s not much! His workloads over the years:

  • 2013: 68.2 innings
  • 2014-15: Did not pitch (injured, released)
  • 2016: 2.1 innings before Tommy John surgery
  • 2017: 32.2 innings after Tommy John surgery
  • 2018: 63 innings and counting

The “north of 100 innings” comment is kinda vague. Did Boone mean 100 innings total? If yes, Loaisiga doesn’t have many more to give! Did Boone mean another 100 innings? In that case Loaisiga and the Yankees are in good shape. Given his injury history and career workload to date, pushing the kid to 160-ish innings this year doesn’t seem like something that will happen.

My hunch is this is more of a play it by ear situation. The Yankees will monitor Loaisiga’s progress and look for signs of fatigue — that includes velocity loss, a decline in spin rate, those sort of things — and adjust his workload as necessary. Putting a hard (and arbitrary) innings cap on a player is an outdated player development plan. Teams are smarter these days. They monitor the pitcher and act accordingly.

Maybe Loaisiga handles 160-ish innings like a champ this year and the Yankees don’t have to sweat his workload. I’d bet against it though. The injury history is ugly and his velocity has faded in each of his starts, suggesting his stamina isn’t where he needs to be. At some point the Yankees will likely have to pull back the reins. We don’t know when it’ll happen but odds are it’ll happen.

And whenever the Yankees do have to begin scaling back Loaisiga’s workload, there are three ways they can approach it:

  1. Keep starting him, then shut him down at some point.
  2. Keep starting him, but give him extra rest whenever possible to ensure he’s able to pitch later in the season.
  3. Move him to the bullpen.

No. 1 doesn’t seem like much of an option to me. The Yankees are a World Series contender and Loaisiga has shown he can help them at the MLB level, even as a spot starter. A contender shouldn’t just max out a pitcher’s workload and shut him down. No. 2 is a better plan but it can be difficult. That’s what the Yankees tried to do with Jordan Montgomery last year. Space out his starts, things like that.

Personally, I am a big fan of No. 3, the move him to the bullpen option. Save those last 20 or so innings and let Loaisiga air it out as a one or two innings at a time guy in September. He could be a real weapon in that role. I’m not saying leave him there forever! I absolutely think Loaisiga has the tools to start. I’m just saying that, when he starts to run out of innings, I think it’d be best to use that final few innings out of the bullpen.

This is a decision that will probably be made for the Yankees. They may need a fill-in starter in August or September and have no choice but to keep Loaisiga in the rotation. Ideally, Loaisiga would stay in the rotation as long as possible so he can develop in that role, then finish off the season throwing fire out of the bullpen. Maybe he’d even make the postseason roster in that capacity. That’s a topic for another time.

For now, Loaisiga has made a hell of a climb this season, essentially going from rookie ball to the big leagues and handling it about as well as the Yankees could’ve hoped. Because he is so young and because he has a scary injury history, the Yankees will have to be aware of Loaisiga’s workload the rest of the season, and chances are they’ll have to figure out the best way to handle him in August or September. They’ll have to strike a balance between Loaisiga’s development and maximizing the team’s World Series chances.

Filed Under: Pitching Tagged With: Jonathan Loaisiga

DotF: The Yankees beat the Red Sox in Triple-A too

June 29, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

A couple quick notes to get us started:

  • RHP Freicer Perez’s season is over. He had surgery to remove bone spurs from his shoulder earlier this week, reports Matt Kardos. Perez has been on the disabled list since May 9th with shoulder inflammation. I suppose the good news is there was no structural damage. His labrum and rotator cuff are apparently in good shape. Still a bummer.
  • 1B Tyler Austin was placed on the Triple-A disabled list, the team announced. He left last night’s game with a back issue and saw the doctor today. There’s no word on the severity of the injury or a timetable for his return. Austin’s a call-up-able depth player, but now I guess Brandon Drury is second on the first base depth chart. Or third behind Neil Walker.
  • Baseball America (subs. req’d) released their midseason top 100 prospects list — they’re really overdoing it with the top 100 updates this year — and four Yankees made it: LHP Justus Sheffield (No. 23), OF Estevan Florial (No. 57), RHP Albert Abreu (No. 67), and RHP Jonathan Loaisiga (No. 71). Fun to see Johnny Lasagna on a top 100 list.
  • OF Trey Amburgey, IF Abi Avelino, LHP Caleb Frare, and RHP Dillon Tate were all named to the Double-A Eastern League All-Star Game, the league announced. The All-Star Game will be played July 11th at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton. You can buy tickets right here.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (7-4 win over Pawtucket) the Yankees even beat the Red Sox in Triple-A tonight

  • 2B Tyler Wade: 2-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K — he’s been great for the last month now
  • CF Clint Frazier: 1-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI — here’s video of the double
  • RF Billy McKinney: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
  • RHP Chance Adams: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 7/2 GB/FB — 60 of 90 pitches were strikes (67%) … let’s see if he can build on this blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda … sorry, but I’ve said that enough times this season
  • LHP Stephen Tarpley: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 2/0 GB/FB — ten of 19 pitches were strikes … just bumped up from Trenton

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm Tagged With: Albert Abreu, Estevan Florial, Freicer Perez, Jonathan Loaisiga, Justus Sheffield, Prospect Lists, Tyler Austin

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