Under the Radar Yankees Prospects: Nestor Cortes

Yanks Go Yard is combing through the New York Yankees minor league system in search of hidden gems in this ongoing series. Today, we look at 21-year-old starting pitcher Nestor Cortes.

Nestor Cortes was one of many New York Yankees minor league pitchers whose results far exceeded their scouting report in 2016. Dietrich Enns and Jordan Montgomery both come to mind as Baby Bombers who dominated the upper-minors last year despite unexceptional stuff.

Cortes is a little behind that pair on the MiLB ladder, but his stat line is no less impressive. In 106 innings of work across four levels this year, he compiled a 1.53 ERA, 0.802 WHIP, and 9.8 K/9. He spent the majority of the season with Low-A Charleston, allowing just six earned runs in 68.1 IP while striking out 75.

That performance earned him a second-half call up to the High-A Tampa Yankees, as well as cameo starts for Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. While he held his own against more advanced competition, it is worth asking whether he can continue his success as he moves up the ladder given his limitations.

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With a fastball that usually sits in the high-80’s/low-90’s, Cortes isn’t blowing anyone away. He does command it well within the zone and throws consistent strikes. His secondary pitches are a work in progress, but they do show the promise of being at least average offerings. He has a change, curve, and slider and has shown plus command of all three.

The Yankees drafted Cortes out of high school with their 36th round pick back in the 2013 June amateur draft. After two seasons in the GCL, Cortes first made a real name for himself as a starter for the Pulaski Yankees in 2015, pitching to a 2.26 ERA and striking out 9.3 Appalachian League batters per nine.

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After his success this year, it seems like the organization will probably move Cortes to starting full-time after bouncing between the rotation and the pen over his first few professional seasons. It’s conceivable that he could be pushed to start next year in Double-A, although a more conservative assignment would be a return to High-A Tampa, where he pitched just 28 innings this season.