Yankees: Best in-house options to replace struggling starters

4. Michael King

Michael King would be a safe replacement in the back end of the Yankees rotation.

If New York is looking for one of its most experienced minor leaguers to join the rotation, Michael King is probably the safest choice. Over the course of the last four seasons, he has made 58 starts in the minors.

King won’t blow any hitters away with a devastating breaking pitch or a strong fastball, but he will pepper the strike zone and allow his defense to make plays.

You know, kind of like what Happ is supposed to be doing.

With Happ and Paxton barely able to get through the lineup once in their recent starts, Michael King has had to clean up after their messes twice so far this season.

Now, King has been hit pretty hard in his two appearances so far this year (7 IP, 6 ER). At this point, King may best be suited as a follower, or paired with another pitcher to mimic a starter’s typical workload.

However, King could be helped by a consistent role. He has been groomed as a starter since the Yankees acquired him in 2018. Placing him in the rotation could provide King the best chance to succeed in the Majors.

3. Jonathan Loaisiga

The Yankees could see if Loaisiga is a long-term starter in 2020.

With a pair of starts already under his belt, New York could hand Jonathan Loaisiga a more solidified role in the Yankees rotation.

Early on, Loaisiga has continued to flash his electric stuff, with 10 strikeouts in 8.1 innings, but has had issues finishing off hitters. In his most recent start against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 6, it took him 51 pitches to record just seven outs.

If he wants to be a successful starter, he will need to improve his efficiency, but with more chances to take the mound, hopefully Loaisiga’s arm talent will win out.

Still, his performance was world’s better than Happ’s start (4 IP, 4 ER, 6 BB)  earlier that afternoon.

There’s no denying that Loaisiga has shown that he can be a legitimate weapon out of the bullpen, but at only 25 years old, it still seems quite early to give up on his potential as a starter.

2. Dedicated Opener

It worked for the Yankees in 2019, what about 2020?

The most likely candidate to fill a potential “Opener” role is Chad Green. New York saw tremendous success when Green opened, posting an 11-4 record last season.

With both King and Loaisiga showing that they have issues going deep in ballgames, using Green and having the aforementioned arms as the follower could be the answer.

One issue with moving Green to an opener role means his availability out of the pen late in the games will be impacted. With Tommy Kahnle already out for the season following Tommy John surgery and Aroldis Chapman still working his way back from a COVID-19 positive test, New York will need Green more than ever.

Still, if Happ is trotting out to the mound every five days and getting shelled, manager Aaron Boone won’t send Green out in mop-up duty, either.

It’s not traditional and still leads to eye-rolling from plenty of baseball fans, but the Yankees may fully commit to the new-age mentality as the team tries to solve its early-season pitching woes.

1. Clarke Schmidt

Yankees fans have clamored for their top prospect to make his MLB debut.

Top prospect Clarke Schmidt tops the list of in-house options to receive a spot in the rotation.

After an impressive run during Spring Training and Summer Camp,  Schmidt looked like an option to make the team to begin the season. However, the Yankees decided to send him to the Alternate Training Site to allow him to keep his arm stretched in case duty called.

Well, after another horrid start from Happ, it should quickly be time to give the highly-touted Schmidt a look.

While he hasn’t gotten any experience over the Double-A level, Schmidt garnered plenty of praise leading up to the season. He took home the James P. Dawson Award, which is given to the best Yankees rookie after Spring Training.

The organization has also been loud about its faith in Schmidt, and manager Aaron Boone has said he could play a key role in the big leagues in 2020.

Out of all of the aforementioned options, Schmidt has the highest ceiling according to pundits, and provides a similar risk to King and Loaisiga. Although the other options boast major league experience, it isn’t significant enough to choose them over Schmidt as a rotation piece.

If Schmidt does face some bumps in the road as he gets his first taste of Major League offenses, Yankees fans could at least swallow a rough outing from a developing player easier than an over the hill veteran getting rocked.