These Former Prospects Are Stepping Up in Yankees' Bullpen at Perfect Time
NEW YORK — When Michael King suffered a season-ending elbow injury last weekend in Baltimore, the Yankees lost an irreplaceable force in their bullpen.
King had been one of the very best relief pitchers in the sport all season long, pitching in both multi-inning spots and high-leverage situations.
The daunting task of filling King's shoes in the back end of the bullpen appeared to be impossible, requiring a comprehensive effort from the rest of New York's relievers and possibly some help from general manager Brian Cashman ahead of the trade deadline.
Since King's injury last Friday, however, the Yankees have been leaning heavily on their internal arms, specifically two former prospects that are blossoming with their latest opportunity and lessening the blow of King's absence.
King was placed on the 60-day injured list with an elbow fracture on July 23. The corresponding move was an overdue promotion for Clarke Schmidt, a right-hander that had been stretching out down in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The following day, fellow righty Ron Marinaccio returned from his rehab assignment, rejoining the 'pen after a stint on the 15-day injured list (shoulder inflammation).
In the week of games since then, Marinaccio and Schmidt have combined to throw 9.2 scoreless innings over four appearances. Marinaccio has twirled 3.2 hitless frames with five strikeouts while Schmidt has delivered a pair of three-inning saves, striking out eight batters over six frames.
"We definitely want to be a part of this," Schmidt told Inside The Pinstripes on Friday. "We want to have the ball in big moments and we want to compete every time that we're out there. I think there's that drive that we want to do more and be more. Some of that falls on our shoulders when guys go down, so we're ready to take on whatever is needed."
While Schmidt was recently called back up, Marinaccio has been lights out for an extended period of time. Since he was promoted from Triple-A on May 22, beginning his second stint with the big-league club, the right-hander has thrown 19 scoreless innings in a row. Opponents are hitting .018 against him in that span (1-for-57).
That stretch for Marinaccio is historic. He's now the first pitcher in franchise history not to allow a hit in 16 of his first 19 career appearances.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge recently praised Marinaccio for his consistency on the mound and his ability to use all three of his pitches effectively. Starter Jameson Taillon added after his latest perfect performance that Marinaccio is everything you're looking for in a young pitcher breaking through at the big-league level.
"Obviously King being down amplifies it a little bit because there's an obvious need to fill that void, but that's kind of been our thing all year," Marinaccio said. "JP [Sears] too, when he's up here. Let's have some fun. It's just gonna be fun if we could do something cool this year as the rookies on the team. It's like that little bond we have, finding a way to contribute wherever we can."
Again, these two have done much more than just eat innings. Even with some poor performances early this year, Marinaccio has a 1.96 ERA in 23 innings and Schmidt has a 2.40 ERA over 30 frames. You can throw Albert Abreu's name into this discussion as well. The right-hander, since he was re-acquired by the Yankees in June, has a 1.17 ERA in his first 15.1 innings back with the Bombers. Sears has a 2.05 ERA and a perfect 3-0 record in 22 innings in a Yankees uniform as well, although he's currently pitching for the RailRiders.
To make this stretch even more special, Marinaccio and Schmidt are cherishing the opportunity to be teammates again. Their lockers are right next to each other in New York's clubhouse at Yankee Stadium and while they've been around long enough to ingratiate themselves with the rest of this star-studded roster, they still spend quite a bit of time together.
"We're both coming up through it together, so it's good to have someone like that to experience these things with," Schmidt explained. "Ron is a special player. I think he's got plus pitches and the stuff plays. Obviously, his changeup is an elite pitch. I think he's gonna have a really good career and it's just fun to be a part of it."
Marinaccio praised his 'pen pal as well, saying Schmidt would have a spot in the starting rotation for most teams in the league if he wasn't a Yankee.
"To see what he can do out of the bullpen, he's shown his versatility that he can throw in high leverage, he could throw three innings at a time," he explained. "Then, when he's filled in for a start, he has done his thing as well."
As both these right-handers gain more confidence, distancing themselves from prospect rankings with more and more big-league experience, they're poised to get even better, developing their pitches to be even filthier.
Now, just imagine what this pitching staff will look like down the road when King, Marinaccio, Schmidt, Sears and more are all healthy and contributing at the big-league level, a testament to the pitching depth and talent that this organization has built over the last several years.
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