It’s time for the Clarke Schmidt in the starting rotation experiment to end. Two games were enough for everyone to draw this conclusion! Heading into the season, the Yankees were planning on having him pitch out of the bullpen. However, injuries to Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino forced them to move Schmidt into the rotation behind Gerrit Cole. After two inconsistent starts, the Yankees need to relegate Clarke Schmidt back to the bullpen.
Heading into the season, it was a foregone conclusion that Clarke Schmidt would be pitching out of the bullpen. Even with the injury to Frankie Montas, most assumed that Domingo German would be locking down the fifth spot in the rotation. However, Luis Severino and Carlos Rodon would be forced to begin the season on the injured list. This wasn’t a bad thing because Schmidt came through the system as a starter and prefers to pitch in the rotation. Some fans even thought Schmidt should be the starter since the Yankees already knew what they had in German. The jury was still out on Schmidt since he had been in the rotation sporadically.
However, the picture has become clearer so far this season. In two starts, Clarke Schmidt has been rocked by his opponents of him. He currently has an ERA of 9.45 and has only been able to last a total of 6.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .333 against him with an OPS of 1.033. His opponents have also hit the ball hard 81 percent of the time and have hit .381 whenever the ball is in play. Schmidt has become too big of a liability on the mound to be in the rotation.
A big problem that Clarke Schmidt has is he fights against left-handed hitters. If you want to start in the big leagues, getting a left-handed hitter out is mandatory. In Schmidt’s career, left-handed hitters have a slash line of .306/.397/.529 whenever he faces them. This is yet another reason why Clarke Schmidt shouldn’t be in the rotation much less be a number two starter.
While Schmidt may not be a starter, he however has proven to be a decent reliever. I finished the 2022 season with an ERA of 3.12. His career numbers have also shown that he is much better at pitching out of the bullpen. Opponents have only hit .217 against him with an OPS of .673.
While Clarke Schmidt is only 27 years old and only has two starts in 2023, he shouldn’t be in the rotation. His struggles de él have also impacted how much the Yankees have had to go to their bullpen earlier than they want. The last thing the team needs is the bullpen running on fumes come September and October. It is time for the Yankees to accept that Schmidt is meant to be a reliever, not a starter. I can’t envision a path for him to be a starting pitcher going forward.
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