Yankees: Clarke Schmidt Highlights Were Utterly Nasty in Intrasquad Game

New York Yankees top prospect Clarke Schmidt has a future here.

The New York Yankees beat the New York Yankees in an intrasquad contest on Monday night at the stadium (fun!), and the pitchers were quite clearly ahead of the hitters at this bizarre midsummer juncture.

Among New York’s vets, JA Happ, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino, and Chad Green all looked exceptional, while Tommy Kahnle got dinger’d by Thairo Estrada.

The clear standout, however? Top prospect Clarke Schmidt, who picked up right where he left off in Spring Training ’20, before everything changed and this whole business got sponsored by Camping World.

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Schmidt used his signature stuff to whiff four Yanks in two innings of work, dealing with the heart of the order. Aaron Judge, he of the recent return to full strength, looked lucky to make contact on a bouncer to short.

Schmidt’s riding fastball had incredible movement low in the zone, and his hook absolutely came to play, too, leaving Gleyber Torres off balance.

And, of course, it’s not Summer Camp without Gary Sanchez looking lost on a curveball — lucky for him, Schmidt’s is just that good.

But don’t take it from me — the man himself knows exactly what kind of opportunity lies ahead of him.

As Schmidt said in the postgame, “To face pretty much the starting lineup for the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, I was looking at the lineup card this afternoon and I was so excited. I was just like, ‘This is awesome.’ There’s no better opportunity for me to open guys’ eyes.”

With the season drawing closer, it’s becoming harder to envision Schmidt not being a part of the Yankees’ plans, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Masahiro Tanaka following Saturday’s unfortunate accident.

It’ll take some maneuvering — Schmidt somehow isn’t on the 40-man — but, man, it’s clear this kid deserves a chance.