The New York Yankees are facing a good problem: they now have a surplus of fresh and healthy starting pitching on their active roster. Having six starter-caliber arms, the Yankees made a significant roster move, sending Marcus Stroman to the bullpen.
New York is now only weeks out from the start of the postseason. Upon various returns from injury, New York is up to full strength on starting pitching.
Included in the rotation are right-handed ace Gerrit Cole, right-hander Luis Gil, and right-hander Clarke Schmidt. Lefties Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes round out the list. With that quintet, the decision was made by Yankees management to move Stroman to the bullpen.
The Recent Limbo in Marcus Stroman’s Performance
The right-hander is a crucial part of the Yankees staff, and his slot in the rotation has been extremely important to the present-day success of the team. To date, he holds a 10-8 record with 148 1/3 innings pitched.
He has 109 strikeouts and only 60 walks on the year. Unfortunately, his ERA has risen beyond the usual, currently sitting at 4.07. Where did things go downhill? Look no further than September.
This month has been the downer for Stroman, and to make it worse, it’s executing within a race for a divisional title. In the month of September, Stroman has a 0-2 record with a detrimental 8.00 ERA. He’s allowed 16 hits and eight earned runs in only nine innings of work.
In Stroman’s last seven games, he’s at an even 3-3 record with 21 earned runs in 34 2/3 innings. These numbers are decently alarming as the Yankees approach a crucial part of their schedule.
How Does Stroman Find Bullpen Success?
There is a very good chance that Marcus Stroman will be a mastermind coming out of the pen. The right-hander can shape his counts like pottery, and can carve up hitters upon command. The keyword there was “command.” Stroman’s pitches need to fall into place while being commanded well. Getting burnt on mistakes or inability to locate should not happen. Shortening his workload will limit the amount of times hitters see his offerings.
Fortunately, the right-hander is equipped with seven pitch options at his disposal. Additionally, all seven pitches hold a put-away value of over 10%. With regards to strikeouts, all but the four-seam fastball and curveball have 10 or more strikeouts to accompany them.
However, the issue with Stroman’s repertoire is velocity. His fastball sits around 92 mph, which isn’t blowing hitters away. Therefore he’s found his success by mixing in his off-speed stuff.
If Stroman takes a short-relief role, his pitch profile may make him more successful and may not even require him to depend on the fastball. If he gets between one to three innings of work, hitters may only see him once, while delivering a different set of pitches each time. Despite this, it is highly unlikely he will be considered for a set-up or closer role. However, the bullpen may be a good fit for Stroman in the short while.
Still, the right-hander may find his way back into the rotation in the coming weeks. This will likely depend on the performance and reliability of the current rotation, as well as matchups and number comparisons.
