Yankees Editorial: Bryan Mitchell Poised for a Major Role with 2015 Yankees

When it comes to assessing the future of the 2015 New York Yankees, it’s no secret that their success hangs by the thread in Masahiro Tanaka‘s elbow, C.C. Sabathia‘s ailing knees and Michael Pineda‘s injury prone shoulder. Add in the uncertainty of Nathan Eovaldi being able to control his electric arm and the reclamation projects in Chris Capuano and Scott Baker, and it’s almost inevitable that the Yankees will need to rely on their farm system for some starting pitching this season.

So enter Bryan Mitchell. The 23-year old right-handed pitcher from Reidsville, North Carolina who made his major league debut with the New York Yankees last season by hurling eleven innings across three appearances and his first career start. According to baseball prospectus, Mitchell posted a respectable 2.45 ERA, a pretty impressive 1.18 WHIP along with a decent 3.22 Fielding Independent Pitcher (FIP). Though this is a pretty small sample size, I consider it a success for the young right-hander.

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While his minor league numbers (4.45 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP over 475.2 innings pitched) might indicate otherwise, Mitchell has some pretty good stuff when it comes to his pitching arsenal. According to fangraphs, his fastball sits at 93.3 mph (vFA), his cutter sits at 90.7 mph (vFC), and both are complimented by a David Robertson-esque 12-6 curveball.

As you all know by a few of my previous posts, I’m a big believer when it comes to pitchers pitching to a solid FIP mark, and I have high hopes for the young Bryan Mitchell. Yes, he can be maddening, as his struggle to control his pitches sometimes mirrors A.J. Burnett at points, but you can’t argue his potential upside. He projects as a number three starter and can be a solid back end of the rotation arm for the New York Yankees for years to come, which brings me to 2015.

Pending the health of Scott Baker, the Yankees will more than likely send Mitchell to AAA to start the 2015 season. However, given the injury history of the Yankees rotation, Mitchell figures to play a key role in the Yankees plans this season. Call this a reach, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the young right-hander is relied upon for 20 or more starts in 2015 at the MLB level.

As I alluded to earlier, the Yankees success will live and die by the health of key pitchers like Tanaka, Sabathia and Pineda, but just as much success will ride on the young shoulders of Bryan Mitchell. They might be asking a lot, but all notions lead the Yankees being fairly confident that Mitchell can take that step this season. I firmly believe that the Yankees lack of acquisitions in the free agent market when it comes to adding pitching-depth this off-season is a clear-cut indication that they believe Mitchell is ready.

It looks like Mitchell could very well play a major role with the Yanks this year. He should be their sixth starter depending on how Adam Warren handles the transition back to starting after pitching out of the pen these past two seasons. What do you think Yankee fans? Let us know in the comments below.

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