Yankees: Daniel Camarena making a name for himself at Triple-A

Yet to crack any Yankees top prospect reports, left-handed pitcher Daniel Camarena is a name you should get to know, as he has excelled this season at Triple-A Scranton.

Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams, Dietrich Enns, Dillon Tate and Domingo Acevedo. These are just some of the names that are likely to come up in conversation while talking about the Yankees promising young arms who are plying their trade in the minors. Well, you can add 24-year-old Daniel Camarena to that ever-expanding list.

In 29.1 innings pitched this season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Camarena has been special, going 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA (fourth-best in the International League) and robust 25-to-7 K/BB ratio.

Holding strong with a 0.92 WHIP, Camarena has silenced opposing hitters to the tune of a .190 batting average.

Left-handed hitters haven’t stood any chance of hitting the 2011 20th round pick, as they’ve only managed five hits in 32 plate appearances for a meager .170 batting average.

In his most recent outing on May 14, Camarena threw 46 of 78 pitches for strikes (59%).

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Moved up in the rotation in lieu of Chad Green, who was called up to the bigs for last Sunday’s doubleheader against the Astros, Camarena pitched a solid five innings of three-hit, two-run ball, striking out five while inducing seven ground balls.

After missing the entire 2015 season due to surgery to remove bone spurs, Camarena shook off any signs of rust in 2016, going 10-7 with a 3.68 ERA and 114-to-24 K/BB ratio in 141.2 innings pitched.

Trenton Thunder manager Bobby Mitchell had planned to pitch Camarena primarily out of the bullpen last season, but Camarena’s overall effectiveness quickly changed that following his first start last April.

"“He has great command with all of his pitches and mixed it up really well,” Mitchell said. “He’s got a really good change-up that kept them off-balance. He did an outstanding job, and I look forward to seeing him pitch more in whatever role he stays in.”"

With the continued struggles of Tommy Layne and the unwavering inconsistencies of Chasen Shreve, the Yankees would be wise to give Camarena a legit shot of helping the bullpen, once he comes off the 7-day DL due to shoulder stiffness.

Layne’s 8.68 ERA and .375 opposing left-handed batting average obviously aren’t getting the job done.

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Camarena’s ability to throw strikes while also keeping the ball in the park (6.9% HR/FB), offers the Yankees pitching staff some much-needed depth as a spot starter or reliever.