Yankees Hoping JP Sears Can Provide Another Successful Spot Start

Sears is enjoying a stellar season at Triple-A and pitched well in his only big league start of the season on May 25.

The Yankees are hoping JP Sears’ second major league start goes just as well as his first.

The 26-year-old left-hander will toe the Yankee Stadium rubber on Tuesday against the Athletics, Aaron Boone announced Monday. Sears is serving as a spot starter with New York in the midst of playing 20 games in as many days.

Jameson Taillon will follow Sears in Wednesday’s series finale against Oakland, while Luis Severino will start Thursday’s one-game stop in Houston. Gerrit Cole will pitch the Yankees’ series-opener in Cleveland on Friday.

Sears has not allowed a run in seven total major league innings this season. He threw two scoreless innings for New York in April while rosters were still expanded, but his first major league start didn’t come until May 25 against the Orioles. Sears delivered that night, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing three hits and two walks. He struck out five.

Sears was optioned back to Triple-A after that start, as expected. It’s likely he will be again after Tuesday’s outing. While his stints on the big league roster have been temporary, he has made his case for these brief auditions with his minor league numbers.

Sears has pitched in 10 games and made eight starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, totaling 39.1 innings. He owns a 1.83 ERA and 0.737 WHIP with the RailRiders, striking out 50 batters while walking a mere six. That production translated to the majors last month, and now Sears has another chance to prove he belongs in The Show.

Sears most recently pitched for the RailRiders on June 21. He threw four innings against the Toledo Mud Hens, allowing two earned runs while striking out eight.

The Mariners made Sears an 11^th-round pick in 2017. A Citadel product from Sumter, South Carolina, the southpaw was traded to New York in a 2017 deal that sent Nick Rumbelow to Seattle. The Yankees also acquired Juan Then in that trade.

Sears has a 2.89 ERA over 273.2 minor league innings. He has struck out 336 hitters and walked 74 over his MiLB career.

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