New York Yankees: Four sleeper candidates to make the Opening Day roster

RHP Mike King

Despite having a poor outing on Thursday against the Tigers it’s safe to assume Jordan Montgomery is going to fill the fourth slot in the Yankee rotation to begin the season. The fifth spot will come down to a group of young pitchers who either have limited big-league experience or haven’t even made their debuts yet. That group includes 24-year-old right-hander Mike King.

King earned his first major league call-up late last September and debuted in the final series of the regular season. In 387 minor leagues innings, King has a career 2.93 ERA so he should be ready to make a big impact for the Yankees this season. In 6.2 IP this spring he has a 2.70 ERA with four strikeouts. He’s allowed seven hits including a home run, but he’s only walked one batter.

His main competition for the final rotation spot is probably Jonathan Loaisiga who could also end up making the team as a reliever. Loaisiga has the stuff to dominate out of the pen and he might not have the stamina to succeed in the rotation given his history of arm issues. King, on the other hand, is built to be a starting pitcher.

Between the two Loaisiga has pitched better this spring tossing five scoreless innings with 9 K’s but there’s still another 20 games left on the exhibition schedule. Loaisiga is pretty much a lock to make the roster either way, but King still has plenty of time to edge him out for the final spot in the rotation.

RHP Clarke Schmidt

If there is one pitcher that’s not currently on the Yankees 40-man roster who could end up making the starting rotation straight out of camp it’s Clarke Schmidt. The former 1st rd pick by New York back in 2017 has really made a strong impression in his first three appearances of the spring and has shown why the Yankees believe he’ll be a big part of their starting staff for years to come.

Schmidt has a 1.80 ERA in five innings pitched this spring with six strikeouts and two walks. He’s featured a nasty curveball in every outing along with a mid 90s fastball and a solid changeup. There’s no doubt Schmidt has the repertoire to be a successful big league starter but there are concerns about his usage after only pitching 90.2 innings in 2019.

When Schmidt was drafted by the Yanks he was in the process of recovering from TJ surgery so in 2018 he only pitched in 23.1 innings. After starting his pro career in rookie ball he made it all the way up to Double-A Trenton last August and had a 2.37 ERA with 19 K’s in just 19 innings. At 24-years-old he’s risen quickly up through the system and the expectation is he’ll continue to do so.

Now the question is whether or not the Yankees think he’s ready to pitch in the big leagues this soon and take on a starter’s workload for a full season. The odds are they aren’t going to rush him, just like they aren’t going to rush their second-best pitching prospect Deivi Garcia who’s only 20 years old.

They have other quality options like King and Loaisiga to turn to but if Schmidt continues to perform at this level for the remainder of camp he could force his way into the rotation much faster than expected.

UTI Rosell Herrera

The Yankees MVP of Spring Training so far has to be the 27-year-old Herrera and it’s not even close. After signing with the Yanks on a minor league deal in January Herrera entered camp as a longshot to make the club who’d likely start the year at Triple-A. That still might be the case but it shouldn’t be if he continues to stay red hot at the plate.

Herrera leads the team with 9 hits and has a batting average of .563 in 16 at-bats. He’s got three doubles, a triple and four RBI with an OPS of 1.463. In addition to swinging the bat extremely well (as a switch hitter), Herrera has opened up a lot of eyes with his speed on the bases and his ability to play up to six positions. In the infield, he’s been playing some third and second base, but he’s another guy who could be in the outfield mix at one of the corner spots.

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Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada entered camp as the favorites to be the backup middle infielder off the bench but Wade has really struggled offensively so far with two hits in 19 at-bats. Estrada has six hits in 21 at-bats with five RBI. One thing that could give them an edge over Herrera is the fact that they’re already on the 40-man roster. In order to make the team, the Yanks would have to clear up a roster spot which is something they might be hesitant to do.

Still, there’s no doubt Herrera has put himself in a good position to be considered because of his versatility. Before joining the Yankees he spent the majority of his pro career in the minors but he has appeared in 149 games during stints with the Marlins, Royals, and Reds. He’s still relatively young so there’s reason to believe that his play so far this spring is no fluke and his best days in the majors are ahead of him.

The Yankees have been great at finding diamonds in the rough like Luke Voit, Mike Tauchman and Gio Urshela over the past couple of years so Herrera could be next. I don’t know who they would cut to make room for him on the roster, but he’d be a very intriguing addition to the club.

LHP Tyler Lyons

Lyons is another guy who’s not on the 40-man roster that’s making a push for one of the final roster spots. The 32-year-old southpaw was acquired by the Yankees last September and he pitched well enough to earn a spot on the postseason roster in the ALDS and ALCS. In October he got out all five hitters he faced and struck out four in 1.2 IP.

This spring he’s made four appearances and hasn’t allowed a run in 3.1 IP. He’s allowed one hit, one walk and struck out five. Lyons has been a left-handed specialist throughout his career holding lefty hitters to a career .208 BA and a .344 SLG %. The Yankees already have Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman, two of the best lefty relievers the game has ever seen, but those guys have power stuff while Lyons relies on deception and a lot of breaking balls.

Lyons could provide a different look in relief however, one thing that could affect his chances of making the team is the new rule change MLB is enforcing this season. Unless they finish an inning every reliever is required to face at least three hitters. Lyons isn’t someone the Yankees want facing righties too often which could definitely limit his role if he were to make the team.

Veteran Luis Avilan is another left-handed non-roster-invitee on the same boat who’s also pitched well this spring. Both are already at a disadvantage not being on the 40-man but its the rule change that could be what prevents one of them from making the team.

If Lyons or another non-roster invitee doesn’t make the team expect one of the final spots in the pen to go to either Jonathan Holder or Ben Heller.