Yankees Prospect Chad Green Called Up, Awaits Bullpen Debut

During last off-season’s Winter Meetings, the New York Yankees sent Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for Luis Cessa and Chad Green. Since it was a move that preceded the headliner trade in which the Yankees snagged Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds, shipping Wilson away was confounding for many.

Wilson had been a powerful, effective 7th-inning man for all of New York’s 2015 season. Even though the Yankees understandably invested in minor-league pitching depth, comparing Wilson’s statistics to the pair of pitchers in return didn’t add up at first.

• Wilson: 61 IP in 74 G, 3.10 ERA, 66 SO, 1.131 WHIP, 1.4 WAR
• Cessa (stats split between three minor-league teams): 8-10 record, 4.52 ERA, 139.1 IP, 163 hits allowed, career-high 36 BB, 7.7 K/9 ratio
• Green (all stats in Class-AA): 5-14 record, 3.93 ERA, 148.2 IP, 1.433 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 ratio, nine homers surrendered

For the sake of background context, the Yankees had two primary left-handed pitchers not named Andrew Miller in last year’s bullpen: Chasen Shreve and Wilson. Shreve, who had initially been dependable while showing flashes of dominance against hitters from both sides of the plate, imploded into an uncertainty during his late-season struggles. The one other lefty that the Yankees trusted, Wilson, was packing his bags for Michigan.

But along came Chapman and all was forgiven. Instead of being analyzed under a microscope in Spring Training, Cessa and Green were given a bit of breathing room to see how well they could perform for their new organization.

Cessa, in particular, made a first impression that was strong enough to break camp with the big-league club. Green was assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In seven starts there, Green forced his name into the mix with 37 innings of well-pitched baseball, striking out 36 while limiting opponents to 29 hits. He also demonstrated the ability to keep the ball in the yard by not surrendering any home-runs, which contributed to his sparkling 1.22 ERA.

Injuries and under-performance opened the opportunity for Green to earn his call to The Show on Saturday. With CC Sabathia and Luis Severino on the 15-day DL, long-man Phil Coke still resting after a lengthy relief appearance on May 12, and Yankees’ starters collectively averaging under five innings in their last five outings, Green will likely see some time out of the bullpen before returning to the minors to remain stretched out.

According to Baseball Prospectus, the 6’3″ right-hander, who was assigned no. 38 upon his arrival, has a high 3/4 arm slot in his delivery and throws three pitches:

• Fastball: BP rated this as his strongest overall pitch, peak velocity at 94 mph, but with below-average command and little movement
• Changeup: 83-85 mph, below-average command with inconsistent delivery
• Slider: 81-83 mph, BP rated this as his strongest pitch off-speed pitch, average command, but with too little deception and bite to miss many MLB bats

If you’re interested in the entire detailed scouting report about Green, or any prospects for that matter, I’d recommend heading over to BP’s website and checking out their information. They’ve got some good stuff on the young studs in the minors.

Time will tell how Green will perform in his Yankee tenure. If he continues putting up solid stat lines then the team will give him opportunities to make a name for himself at the major-league level. Even though Cessa was the main piece that the Yankees received for Wilson, however successful Green pans out will go a long way in determining the winner of the Detroit-New York trade.