The New York Yankees have had several outstanding spring training performances so far in 2023.
Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, and other young hitters have been brilliant.
On the pitching side of things, one name has been standing out above the rest.
“The Yankees pitcher who has stood out the most to opp scouts assigned to the team this spring? Clarke Schmidt received more than a few votes. ‘Pretty filthy,’ one AL scout said. Of the cutter Schmidt has been incorporating, an NL scout said: ‘Nasty. Looks more than legit to me,’” Yankees insider Erik Boland tweeted.
The Yankees pitcher who has stood out the most to opp scouts assigned to the team this spring?
Clarke Schmidt received more than a few votes. “Pretty filthy,” one AL scout said. Of the cutter Schmidt has been incorporating, an NL scout said: “Nasty. Looks more than legit to me.”—Erik Boland (@eboland11) March 17, 2023
For the Yankees, this is a marvelous development because Schmidt was already solid in 2022.
Lots of folks forget that he had a pretty solid 3.12 ERA in 57.2 innings last year.
He had a couple of tough playoff appearances against difficult teams like the Houston Astros, but that doesn’t take anything away from him.
He correctly identified that his fastball wasn’t really good, and he needed something to complement his excellent breaking balls.
Enter his brand-new cutter.
With it, Schmidt hopes to have a more consistent weapon with enough speed to overmatch hitters.
The Yankees used him as a reliever in 2022, but will likely welcome him in the rotation for as long as Carlos Rodon is out with his injury.
The Yankees’ rotation options at the moment are looking good with Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Nestor Cortes Jr., Domingo German and Schmidt.
Rodon should be back in late April, and if Frankie Montas returns to full health by the second half, the unit has elite potential.
NEXT:
Yankees Manager Comments On Anthony Volpe’s 2023 Outlook
