Yankees Rookie Luis Cessa Helping Keep Ragged Rotation Afloat

New York Yankees rookie starting pitcher Luis Cessa has been crucial to keeping the club in the playoff race since joining the rotation.

After losing two starting pitchers to elbow injuries in the past month, the New York Yankees are just scouring the system for warm bodies to take the ball every fifth day. Bryan Mitchell hasn’t pitched a single major league inning all season, but he took the mound Wednesday night to face one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball in a crucial September matchup.

Outside of the red-hot Masahiro Tanaka, even the guys who are healthy haven’t been especially reliable this year. One exception has been rookie Luis Cessa, who made his fourth straight impressive start for the Yankees in their 7-6 nail-biter win over the Blue Jays Tuesday.

Over those last four starts, Cessa has allowed just eight earned runs in 23.1 innings of work, good for a 3.09 ERA. The Yankees have won all four games, three of them against clubs they are competing with for a playoff spot.

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Admittedly, not everything has been completely rosy for Cessa as a starter. He’s only struck out 5.79 batters per nine during that span, which generally isn’t a sustainable number for a big league starter (at least not a good one). In addition, he’s allowed five home runs in those four starts, which works out to 1.93 HR/9, which again, just isn’t going to fly in the long run.

Still, Cessa has been very impressive for a guy who started the year as maybe the team’s eighth string starter behind Ivan Nova and Bryan Mitchell. He is not going to be mistaken for an ace, but he’s battling and keeping the Yankees in games at a time when they have few options.

For a guy who only took up pitching in 2011 after being converted from shortstop, Cessa is remarkably polished. He has four quality offerings: a serious mid-90’s heater, a slider, a curve, and a change. He mixes in all four pitches regularly, has good control, and is aggressive going after hitters. He’s not a nibbler.

With a strong performance down the stretch, Cessa could set himself up as a favorite for a 2017 rotation spot. Tanaka, CC Sabathia, and Michael Pineda are presumably locks, so Cessa will be left to compete with Chad Green, Luis Severino, and whoever else the team brings in this winter for the final two starting jobs.

Next: Biggest Questions Facing 2017 Yankees Offense

Cessa deserves a lot of credit for the Yankees late run for a playoff spot. He has come up big for them in his last three turns for the rotation against tough American League contenders.