Yu-Min Lin Shines for D-backs in Spring Breakout Game
When Yu-Min Lin pitched in his first big league camp game he didn't feel natural and relaxed, and it showed. In his lone outing, he recorded just one out while giving up five earned runs on four hits, a homer and two walks. Worse yet, his body language was poor, allowing his frustration to show. In Saturday night's 3-1 D-backs victory over the Rockies in the Spring Breakout it was a different story.
Lin threw two innings, giving up two hits and striking out one batter. The two hits were a soft line drive into left and a slow roller towards second that went under the glove of second baseman Jansel Luis that could have been ruled an error. Undeterred, he got out of those innings quickly by firing strikes and trusting his defense to clean it up. Gino Groover made a very nice snare on a low liner to first for the final out of the first inning and Ivan Melendez started a nifty 5-4 force out at second for the final out of the second inning.
Said Lin after the game, "I was much more relaxed, and I was able to locate my pitches and attack the strike zone." The 20-year-old left-hander from Taiwan typically throws a four-seam fastball but has been developing a sinker in camp this year. He was throwing it up to 92 MPH with good movement that hitters were unable to square up. Asked about the pitch he said "I know I don't have high velocity. I'm still learning the sinker, and I feel like it's improved a lot. Today I was able to shape and locate the pitch where I wanted it."
When he was assigned to minor league camp the coaching staff encouraged him, reinforcing that he's a good pitcher but needed to work on his body language. "Major league hitters can sense a pitcher's emotions through his body language, and my body language wasn't stable enough."
Lin felt very honored to be chosen to start this game. "There are many good starters in the organization, but they chose me, so it's really an honor" He was informed a couple of days ago that he will start his season in Double-A Amarillo. His goals are clear, however. He wants to get to Triple-A Reno by July and make his major league debut in 2024. It's an ambitious timeline for such a young pitcher, but one can sense the confidence and determination.
At the plate, Diamondbacks top prospect Jordan Lawlar smashed a double off the left field wall and later scored on a two-run single from A.J. Vukovich. The notable thing about Lawlar's at-bat was he was originally called out on strikes. But the challenge system was in place for this game. Lawlar challenged the strike call and the replay showed it as a ball. Two pitches later, he was standing on second base.
The challenge system came into the D-backs favor again in the 6th inning. Right fielder Jakey Josepha drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch, but the Rockies challenged and lost when ABS confirmed the pitch missed by half an inch. Josepha then stole second base, advanced to third on a balk, and scored on a wild pitch for the D-backs third run.
Top-hitting prospect Gino Groover had two hits on the night, and Jorge Barrosa had a double. Druw Jones went hitless in two at-bats and showed off his plus-plus arm in centerfield with two strong throws.
The lone Rockies run was allowed by Yilber Diaz, who gave up two hits in 1.2 innings. He also brought the heat with a 97 MPH fastball and some filthy sliders and curveballs for swings and misses. Sam Knowlton, Conor Grammes, and Christian Montes De Oca combined for 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to bridge it to the 7th and final inning for Justin Martinez. The fireballing young reliever from the Dominican Republic pumped 100 MPH fastballs along with his splitter and slider to strike out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
