Yankees: Best in-house options to replace struggling starters

A look at Yankees pitchers who can replace their struggling starters.

The New York Yankees are the hottest team in baseball. Through the first few weeks of the season, their lineup has battered the competition on their way to setting franchise records in home runs.

Despite the hot start at the plate, New York has faced some early issues on the mound, as a pair of veteran starters have struggled mightily.

Both J.A. Happ and James Paxton have earned run averages over 10.00, and have put the Yankees in tough positions to win.

For Paxton, offseason back surgery may be the cause, as his diminished velocity has led to opposing hitters teeing off on his flat fastball. In Happ’s case, 2019 was the worst season of his career, and the slow start to the 2020 season has left many fans already calling for his spot in the rotation.

In a typical year, a pair of poor starts is nothing to be seriously concerned with. This season’s 60-game sprint, however, is a completely different animal. Yankees manager Aaron Boone will not have the luxury of letting the veterans work out the kinks for a month or so.

As the Yankees look to gain a stranglehold on the AL East, the team will need to move quickly if Paxton and Happ are unable to return to form.

In a normal season, the trade market would be full of reliable pitchers who can eat innings and fill out of the back end of the rotation. With the expanded playoffs and shortened season, acquiring a player from another organization could be a tough task for general manager Brian Cashman.

Instead, he will have to look in-house and use prospects and green pitchers to try and patch together a postseason-worthy rotation.

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.