Yankees: Immediate replacements for Corey Kluber in the starting rotation

2. Michael King

Michael King was rolling for a decent while. His first four appearances on the year featured 12.1 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and just six hits allowed.

The Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays have brought him back down to earth a bit recently, but he’s still sporting a 2.29 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in his seven appearances. He can provide length, too. His first outing of the year was a sterling performance in relief in which he tossed six scoreless innings.

The right-hander started his professional career as a reliever, but went back to being a starter in 2017 and eventually made his MLB debut in 2019. He’s made four starts out of his 17 games with the Bombers, but none of them went beyond four innings and he surrendered multiple earned runs in each of them.

But the 2021 version of King is new and improved. His sinker is rocking while his curve and changeup provide a good mix to keep hitters on their toes. Giving him a start this year seems like it’d be a whole lot different than 2020. But it all depends on if the Yankees think he’s better than the obvious choice.