Yankees prospect Jonathan Loaisiga could be exactly what team needs

Despite Jon Heyman reporting that the Yankees are interested in securing a sixth starting pitcher, perhaps the organization already has the best available option in prospect Jonathan Loaisiga.

Earlier in the week, Yankees fans got really excited when Nick Cafardo reported that general manager Brian Cashman was still interested in securing an additional starting pitcher before the beginning of the 2019 season.

On Thursday, speculation was further fueled by Jon Heyman’s tweet that the Yanks were indeed looking to add depth to their staff — namely in the form of Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley or Ervin Santana.

Well, you can cross Miley off the list, as the 32-year-old left-hander, shortly after that signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Astros.

Inking another left-hander, veteran or not, seems like a stretch. The Yankee staff already houses three southpaws; James Paxton, J.A. Happ and C.C. Sabathia — not to mention Jordan Montgomery could return from Tommy John surgery as early as June.

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Therefore, evening out the rotation a bit more would make sense, even if that extra right-hander were to be used as a spot-starter/long reliever.

And while righty’s like Santana, Jeremy Hellickson and Chris Tillman are still looking for work, why wouldn’t the Yanks simply make use of their No. 2 prospect, Jonathan Loaisiga?

I know the knock on Loaisiga is that he has trouble staying off the disabled list. However, he’s still only 24, and without the pressure of assuming a starting spot (as he did in 2018), Loaisiga would be offered the immediate opportunity to pitch more freely in fewer innings.

In four starts last season, following his promotion from Double-A Trenton, Loaisiga went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Yes, he soon hurt his shoulder and spent time on the DL; but when healthy, Loaisiga proved a clean, repeatable delivery with a quick arm angle.

His three-pitch repertoire features a putaway high-90s fastball, low-80s curveball with a ton of spin and an upper-80s changeup with superb fade.

Across four levels of ball in 2018, Loaisiga’s control was pinpoint, as he boasted a 100:20 K:BB ratio in 74.2 innings pitched.

ESPN’s Keith Law kept Loaisiga off his recent top 100 prospects list due to injury and uncertainty. However, as Law told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, should Loaisiga figure out a way to stay healthy, he has a tremendous upside.

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"He’s only got about 150 professional innings. I looked it up the other day because he’s in the Yankees Top 10, obviously. But he’s really not pitched very much at all at any level.But grading out the stuff, he’s ‑‑ he might be more than a mid‑rotation starter. At least an above‑average starter if you’re going by stuff, and I think he’s got the control, at least, to potentially get there. But we’ve got to see 120 innings out of this guy on some calendar year before going all in."

With five starters already penciled in, I’d give Loaisiga first shot at filling the current need of “depth.” Should he struggle or re-injure himself, Brian Cashman can then look to acquire another arm. But until then, why not use a promising talent that could prove useful for years to come.

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