TAMPA — The names on the back of the Red Sox jerseys that Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga handled with ease Tuesday were mostly minor leaguers that you probably never heard of except for maybe Jeter Downs, one of the returns from the Dodgers in last month’s Mookie Betts trade.
Maybe more important than the great results, and retiring all six hitters with four strikeouts qualifies, was how the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Nicaraguan right-hander dominated pitching the eighth and ninth innings of a Yankees’ 9-1 cakewalk.
Loaisiga was going after hitters and doing so throwing a lot of quality strikes in his 35-pitch outing.
His delivery was pristine.
His velocity was coming in at 94-97 mph, and his fastballs had plenty of life.
He didn’t walk anyone.
This is what MLB Pipeline was seeing from Loaisiga when it ranked him the Yankees’ second-best prospect in 2018 after having him in the No. 24 spot the year before.
“He’s coming in on the attack right now and seems to have a feel for his pitches,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “You see that dynamic stuff.”
Loaisiga has been the Yankees’ most dominant pitcher so far this spring. In three outings, he’s faced 15 batters and retired all 15, nine by strikeout.
If Loaisiga finishes the spring strong, he’ll be a guarantee to open the season on the Yankees’ pitching staff, which needs to replace injured starters Luis Severino and James Paxton plus suspended starter Domingo German.
Loaisiga is a candidate to fill one of the rotation spots or take on a middle relief role similar to what Luis Cessa was in for most of 2019.
“Open (rotation spot) or not, I just want Lo to be in a good place with his delivery,” Boone said. “He’s coming in on the attack right now and seems to have a feel for his pitches.”
Loaisiga still has time to live up to his past expectations, as he’s just 25 and showing how well he can throw when he’s healthy.
The 2019 season was not a good one for Loaisiga, who was 2-2 with a 4.55 ERA in 15 games with the Yankees, four as a starter. He also pitched to a 5.60 ERA in six minor-league outings and was on the injured list from May 13 to Aug. 13 with a right shoulder strain.
Also disappointing last season were Loaisiga’s 16 walks in 31 2/3 innings with the Yankees, which pushed his career big-league totals to 28 base on balls in 56 1/3 innings. That’s way too many free passes.
But if Loaisiga can stay healthy – knock on wood for him because he needs all the good luck that he can get – the Yankees could have another weapon to attack opponents either as a starter or reliever. Of course, Loaisiga will need to continue to keep his walks down, and that task becomes a whole lot tougher when he’s facing big-league hitters, but there’s nothing not to like about how he’s pitched so far this spring.
“We’ll continue to stretch him out a little bit,” Boone said. “What role it ends up being – and it could be multiples – it’s just good to see him throwing the ball well and on the attack.”
Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm5qLmNvbS95YW5rZWVzLzIwMjAvMDMvdGhpcy11bmhpdHRhYmxlLXlhbmtlZXMtcGl0Y2hlci1pcy1vcGVuaW5nLWV5ZXMtd2lkZS10aGlzLXNwcmluZy5odG1s0gF3aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmouY29tL3lhbmtlZXMvMjAyMC8wMy90aGlzLXVuaGl0dGFibGUteWFua2Vlcy1waXRjaGVyLWlzLW9wZW5pbmctZXllcy13aWRlLXRoaXMtc3ByaW5nLmh0bWw_b3V0cHV0VHlwZT1hbXA?oc=5
2020-03-04 14:23:00Z
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