Clarke Schmidt made another rehab start last night, tossing 70 pitches and looking like the pitcher that the Yankees desperately need in the rotation. The young right-hander struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings of two-run baseball with the Somerset Patriots in that final rehab start, and he has looked sharp in his performances at the Minor League level. We didn’t get any Statcast information at this start, but we did get to see what his stuff looked like at his second start with Scranton since Triple-A has pitch tracking at their ballparks.
Aaron Boone told reporters that we should expect to see Clarke Schmidt this weekend in Chicago, and he could be a massive addition to a pitching staff that needs him.
Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt Is Ready to Give Their Rotation a Boost
Last night was a strong showing for Clarke Schmidt, whose only blemish was a two-run home run that just snuck over the right field wall at Mirabito Stadium in Binghamton. The New York Yankees could desperately use the pitching right now, especially with Gerrit Cole having a calf cramp that the team will have to monitor for now. Schmidt could earn some very important playoff starts, and his combination of excellent stuff and command could make him a serious weapon in that kind of environment.
The cutter took off in 2024, becoming the high-whiff pitch he needed to neutralize lefties, but his confidence in throwing his breaking pitches has also improved. I observed a dip in sinker usage as the 2024 season went on, and since the pitch wasn’t a high-whiff offering and often got hit for damage contact, it was a wise move to make. Over his final four starts his sinker was used under 20% of the time, posting a 1.09 ERA and 2.69 FIP while pitching into the seventh inning twice, and I think a huge part of that has to do with how well he was mixing his stuff in.
In his second rehab start, which came in Scranton with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the right-hander had the velocity and movement he usually does, and over his three starts the strikeout stuff looked as good as it did before the injury.
I think rehab assignment results don’t matter, but the ability to pound the strike zone and generate the velocity and movement we saw pre-injury are extremely encouraging. The Yankees could use him in their rotation badly, and people forget just how good he was this season relative to the American League. His 2.52 ERA across 11 starts made Clarke Schmidt arguably the best pitcher in this rotation, and his strikeout rates were a pleasant sight with the overall lack of whiffs this team generated early in the season.
The jump in Stuff+ from 102 last season to 115 this season has played a huge role in his success, throwing harder than he did with good movement profiles and a more diverse pitch mix. We’ll see how Schmidt rebounds upon his return to the rotation, but I’d imagine even if the results aren’t great as a starter post-rehab he could find a rhythm in a bullpen role, where the Yankees would happily take any reinforcements that they can get. Right now the Yankees are just 0.5 games ahead of the Orioles for the top spot in the AL East, and they’ll need to get the ball rolling to create some separation.
It’ll be Carlos Rodon getting the ball for the Yankees tonight as they take on Andrew Heaney and the Texas Rangers at 8:05 PM EST for the second game of this three-game set.
