Clarke Schmidt Sets Sights on Yankees' Staff
TAMPA — Once pegged as the best pitching prospect in the Yankees' farm system, Clarke Schmidt is on a mission this spring.
Like any other pitcher, the right-hander is working to stay healthy and throw more strikes with the regular season on the horizon. Above all else, however, Schmidt wants to ditch a title he's carried since he was drafted five years ago.
"I've been a prospect for so long," Schmidt told Inside The Pinstripes at Yankees camp this week. "I'm ready to drop that title and move on to the next part of my career, being an everyday major leaguer."
Schmidt has shown flashes of his potential over the years. The former first-round pick was recognized as the most outstanding Yankees rookie in spring training in 2020, winning the James P. Dawson award. He's posted stellar numbers in the minor leagues, earning his way onto the big-league club in brief spurts these last few years.
Injuries and a logjam of talented arms in the organization have hindered Schmidt's ability to take that next step, though. It's kept him from securing a spot in New York's rotation.
Last year, Schmidt was a candidate to make the Opening Day roster, but an elbow strain in spring training kept him off the mound and on the mend until later that summer. He ended up making just two appearances in the big leagues that season, posting a 5.68 ERA over 6.1 innings of work.
Schmidt explained that while his latest elbow injury changed his big-league timeline, his mindset has remained the same. He's still as confident as ever in his abilities, adding that he learned from last year's injury in every aspect of his life—mechanically, mentally and physically.
"If I didn't have that injury, I don't think I would have cleaned certain things up. So, as far as that goes, I feel like I'm in a better place mechanically," Schmidt said. "You learn a lot about yourself in life, too. When you're in the darkest times, there's something about it. It brings a lot out of you. I'm in a really good spot in my life now, for sure."
Schmidt continued, insisting that a productive offseason in all facets has fostered an increase in his effectiveness while toeing the rubber. He's shown it in Grapefruit League play thus far.
On Tuesday, in a start against the Phillies, Schmidt tossed three innings, allowing two runs while punching out three batters. His first frame on the bump—a 12-pitch clinic featuring four swings and misses—made quite the impression on his manager.
"That's one of the better times I've seen him," Aaron Boone said later that evening. "I mean, that's good hitters that you can clearly tell were uncomfortable. His repertoire when he executes can overmatch."
The uptick Schmidt alluded to was there as well. The right-hander is throwing harder; his fastball touched 97.1 mph against Philadelphia, averaging 96. That's exactly three notches higher on the radar gun than his average velocity last season.
The consensus from Boone, as well as pitching coach Matt Blake, is that Schmidt needs to master the art of pounding the strike zone in order to take that next step. There's no debating whether or not Schmidt has the pure stuff to excel, but avoiding lapses in command is the key to unlocking more consistent dominance.
"I think the thing with him is always just reminding him to just fill up the strike zone early and generate swings, because his tendency is to let his big shapes chase the swing and miss out of the zone and sometimes he gets himself into bad counts," Blake said. "Just reminding him to be aggressive, be in the zone with it, generate swings, and that's when the good things will happen for him."
With less than one week to go until Opening Day, Schmidt is anxiously awaiting news of where he'll start the regular season. He's on the 40-man roster and is being built up as a starter, both a plus for a club desperate to eat up innings to start the year, but there are no guarantees. Other young starters like Deivi García and Luis Gil could get the nod ahead of him while the likes of Ron Marinaccio and even Manny Bañuelos have positioned themselves for a promotion as well.
The talent in the clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field hasn't fazed Schmidt in the slightest, though. He's focused solely on what he can control—performing well enough to earn a spot on the 28-man roster.
Once he gets that call, he doesn't want to look back.
"Now that I'm healthy and able to go out there every five days, I'm excited for sure to be able to show people the work that I put in and what goes on behind the scenes," Schmidt said. "A lot of that builds up for moments like this."
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