Yankees: What role will Jonathan Loaisiga fill in 2019?

Despite seeing limited action as a rookie Jonathan Loaisiga showed signs of promise for the Yankees in 2018. What might he have in store for 2019?

After trading for James Paxton and re-signing J.A. Happ earlier this offseason the Yankees starting rotation looks pretty much set for 2019. However, that doesn’t mean the 24-year-old Loaisiga won’t have an important role to play on next year’s club.

Even though the right-hander from Nicaragua only pitched in 9 games at the big league level a season ago Yankee fans definitely got to see why the organization is so high on him. His 5.11 ERA was nothing special, but he displayed splashes of excellence during the 24.2 innings he pitched. Especially during the four starts he made in late June and early July filling in for an injured Masahiro Tanaka when he pitched to a 3.00 ERA.

Loaisiga didn’t give the Yankees much length in any of his starts (averaging only 4.5 innings per), but he certainly showed that he has the repertoire to succeed in the team’s rotation for years to come. His best start came in a win against the Phillies on June 26th when he pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing only a single hit. That night Loaisiga featured an electric fastball reaching up to 97 mph, and a wipeout curveball and changeup.

Coming up through the Yankee system Loaisiga has always been known for having strong control over all his pitches. He’s always on the attack and doesn’t nibble around the strike zone. In his first two stints at the major league level last season he struggled with control at times which was a bit of a surprise (12 BB’s in 24.2 IP), but in the future, I think we’ll see his control become a strength of his with more experience.

We’ll have to wait and see where Loaisiga starts the season next year, but it’s likely that barring injury to someone in the rotation during spring training, he’ll start it at Triple-A Scranton. That’s the smart move because Loaisiga figures to be a starter for this Yankee team in the long run. He’ll also probably be one of the first names called upon to step into the rotation if someone gets hurt so it’s important he’s built up to be a starter whenever that may be.

Right now CC Sabathia is penciled in to be the fifth starter even after he underwent an emergency heart procedure earlier this month. CC is thankfully expected to make a full recovery and should be ready for spring training but over each of the past couple of seasons, he’s missed about four or five starts because of a lingering knee issue. As he gets set to enter his last big league season you can expect CC to need a DL stint or two throughout the year which could lead to Loaisiga filling in for him.

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Along with Loaisiga, Luis Cessa and Chance Adams are the most likely Triple-A starters to be called upon to replace an injured member of the rotation in 2019. Of the three Loaisiga undoubtedly has the most upside as evident by his ranking as the second-best prospect in the entire farm system.

He also has the most staying power so all he might need is the opportunity to prove himself over a couple starts. That way when it’s time to send him back down the coaching staff will have to strongly reconsider doing so. Although, if the Yankees starting staff can stay healthy in 2019 he may not get many of those opportunities, but if he does don’t be surprised if he takes full advantage of them.

Over the past three years, the Yankees have seen multiple position players burst onto the scene for them during their rookie seasons, but in 2019 it could be time for a pitcher to do the same. No pitcher in the organization has a better chance to do so than Loaisiga.