Yankees: Is LHP Josh Rogers the next prospect to appear in the Bronx?

Yankees pitching prospect Josh Rogers has made his way to SWB and is showing signs that he is ready for the bigs. Will we see him in the Bronx anytime soon?

LHP Joshua Cole Rogers, 23, was an 11th round draft pick by the Yankees in the 2015 draft out of the University of Louisville, Kentucky. Since then, he has quickly worked his way up to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Rogers rise has been impressive. He has a 4 season ERA of 2.80 and a 1.091 WHIP in the minors. Most of all, he pitches deep into games and threw 182 innings for 3 minor league teams including AA Trenton before finishing at Florida A+.

So far this season at SWB, he has started 9 games going 5-3 with a 2.48 ERA in 61 innings. He’s fanned 51 in that span and has gone at least 6 innings plus in his last eight starts with three shutouts. Coming off of surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow last summer, Rogers was expected to stay at Trenton for the season but he’s already proved he can pitch at the higher level of Triple-A.

He doesn’t possess a Luis Severino 97-100 MPH fastball to overpower hitters. The southpaw prospect is a control pitcher with four pitches. His fastball peaks at 91 MPH while his curve sits around 78 MPH and a change-up in the middle at 84 MPH. Last year he developed a wipe-out slider at 88 MPH that he uses to put hitters away.

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A lot has happened since 2016, and the Yankees are in need of starting pitching. Especially an arm that can step up and make a spot start when needed if the struggling CC Sabathia lands back on the DL.

The Railriders manager Bobby Mitchell who also coached Rogers at Trenton AA Thunder had this to say to Tommy Romanelli of Pinstripe Podcast:

"“When [Rogers] works with good tempo and he throws strikes he gets to be tougher and tougher and tougher,” RailRiders manager Bobby Mitchell said. “When he’s effective he is down [in the zone].”Rogers’ arsenal features a low 90’s fastball, and he mixes in a change-up that is a work in progress, but his best pitch is by far his slider. Mitchell said he’s a guy that won’t overpower hitters, but he can pitch. The key for Rogers is to be around the plate and keep the ball down. If he does that Mitchell said he can be very effective."

Next: Giancarlo Stanton struggling mightily against right-handed pitching

It certainly looks like the Yankees are preparing him for a trip to the Bronx and it must be reassuring to GM Cashman that he has someone ready to step up when needed.

Yankees pitching prospect Josh Rogers has made his way to SWB and is showing signs that he is ready for the bigs. Will we see him in the Bronx anytime soon?

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