Mike King, Clarke Schmidt, Jonathan Loaisiga: Three young Yankees pitchers with a great opportunity
TAMPA, Fla. — They entered the game one after another, each with a chance to seize an opportunity.
They are three pitchers who entered camp far from under the radar — not with a rotation spot open — but not entirely in the spotlight, either.
That changed earlier this week with the news that Luis Severino will miss the entire season because of Tommy John surgery.
One player’s misfortune can be another’s opportunity, and Mike King, Clarke Schmidt and Jonathan Loaisiga all could get theirs — some sooner than others, perhaps, but all could do it this season.
After J.A. Happ’s solid three innings Thursday, the trio of righthanders appeared consecutively and held the Rays scoreless in the Yankees’ 7-1 victory at Steinbrenner Field.
King, 24, was the least impressive of the three, allowing three hits in two innings, but he still left the scoreboard undamaged.
Schmidt, 24, displaying a killer curveball that one opposing scout called “the real deal, period,” struck out three and allowed two hits in two innings.
Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt throws during spring training in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 16. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Loaisiga, 25, who has the best chance of the three to make the club out of camp because he already has experienced some limited success in the big leagues, struck out four in two perfect innings.
“You know, one of my favorite things about this camp is the amount of talented young pitchers that we have that are starting to knock on that door a little bit,” Aaron Boone said. “We saw a couple today.”
Jordan Montgomery is a near lock to take one of the rotation spots and numerous pitchers are in contention for the other one, which likely will be open only into May or June, depending on James Paxton’s rehab from back surgery earlier this month.
The Yankees love Loaisiga’s upside if he can stay healthy, hardly a sure thing. Many scouts see his future more as a bullpen piece than a starter, but the Yankees see the power arm — Loaisiga routinely approaches triple digits with his fastball — and aren’t counting him out as an option to start.
Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga throws against the Rays during a spring training game at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla., on Feb. 23. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
“We’ll see. I look at it as, it’s still a long ways off,” Boone said. “The most important thing is, Lo’s going to play a big role for us this year. It could be some different roles. You watch him throw today and see how efficient he is with that stuff. You don't want to put a ceiling on what he could potentially do, so we'll build him up and try and take care of him, and be smart, but he'll certainly continue to . . . his role could continue to evolve and change depending on how things go.”
The pitcher who created the most buzz among opposing team scouts was Schmidt, the 16th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Amateur scouts felt he was top-10-pick material, but Schmidt had Tommy John surgery before the draft, dropping his stock somewhat. After appearing in eight games (seven starts) in 2018, Schmidt battled forearm soreness that put him on the minor league injured list and appeared in 19 games (18 starts) last season. He started 2019 with the Gulf Coast rookie league and ended it with Double-A Trenton, going 6-5 with a 3.47 ERA over three levels.
How much additional seasoning in the minors will Schmidt require? “It’s tough to say,” Boone said. “He doesn’t have a lot of experience yet as a professional pitcher with coming [off] the injury, but he’s clearly advanced for that lack of experience. He's got a lot of the intangible things, as well as the raw stuff to be able to move quickly.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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