By Greg Corcoran

Despite trading away a multitude of right-handed starting pitchers over the past several years, it is still the position where the Yankees have the most depth organizationally. Almost inexplicably, they have been able to churn out talent from the draft and international free agency due to an impressive performance from their scouting and development staff.

The Yankees are pretty set with the righties in their current rotation. Most of the question marks surround the lefties. Gerrit Cole just has to stay healthy and he’s going to give you an ace-caliber performance. Marcus Stroman is a known quantity who pitches well season in and season out.

Clarke Schmidt is the third and last righty in the major league rotation. Of the three, he is the biggest question mark. He’s coming off a good season, especially after his slow start. Schmidt has made the necessary adjustments during the season and finished relatively strong. He arrived at camp with significant improvements in his repertoire, including well-needed adjustments to the sinker. I can’t see him doing any worse than last year and would predict that he finishes with better numbers in 2024. Even a repeat of 2023 would be acceptable, but I think there’s more upside coming.

If one of the exciting Triple-A prospects is not ready by the time injury strikes (more to come on that), the Yankees could turn to Luke Weaver. Weaver made three starts for the Yankees at the end of last year and played his best baseball of 2023. He will look to keep that ball rolling and take that success into 2024. Initially he’ll be in a middle relief role, but the Yankees could be the team that finally unlocks his potential as a starter too.

Cody Morris and Cody Poteet have both started games in the past two seasons. Both probably profile better out of the bullpen at this point but could make a few spot starts if the need arises. Despite being afterthoughts in their previous organizations, neither are junk-ballers by any stretch. Any way you slice it, these are good players to have around.

The Yankees will have some of their most exciting pitching prospects one step away in Triple-A to begin the season. Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil, and Yoendrys Gomez are all legitimate starting pitching prospects who could make an impact this season.

Will Warren has a deep repertoire with pitches darting in all directions. It’s not a matter of if but when he will get his shot at the rotation. Clayton Beeter has been relegated to the bullpen by many scouts, but the Yankees still believe in him as a starter. He throws four pitches and can reach the upper-90’s with the fastball. Beeter threw a career high 131.2 innings last year and struck out 165. He’ll need to improve his control to prove he’s major league ready. He has looked good in spring training with a fastball reaching 97 in his first pre-season game.

Luis Gil is the biggest wildcard of the bunch, if for no other reason than his time away due to injury. His fastball sits in the upper-90’s and has reached triple-digits as a starter. He’s always had a filthy slider, but word is he now has an effective changeup as well and has even added a cutter to the mix. It’s hard to predict what direction his career will go now that he’s fully healthy. He could be anything from a breakout starter to a reliever who can’t find enough control to get a shot in the majors. I’ll be keeping an eye on him in Triple-A though. He pitched his first game in spring training yesterday and hit 98 already on the radar with good movement.

Finally healthy for most of the season in 2023, Yoendrys Gomez threw a career high in innings. That only equated to 67.1 innings, but major progress was made. Gomez has a deep repertoire of above average pitches and good control. He could slot nicely into the Randy Vasquez/Jhony Brito role or slip into the rotation under the right circumstances.

The depth doesn’t end there either. Chase Hampton, who has been featured on several of the top 100 prospect lists this offseason, is one of the most exciting pitchers on the farm. His fastball reaches the upper-90’s and all of his pitches move. Hampton could approach the majors quickly and has the high ceiling of a front-end starter.

Zach Messinger was converted from reliever to the starting rotation and has just begun to scratch the surface of his potential. Messinger is a big kid with good stuff and should spend most of the year in Double-A this year. If he can cut down on the walks, he could move with a similar trajectory to Richard Fitts.

Tyrone Yulie and Blane Abeyta are pitchers with big stuff who haven’t been able to put it all together just yet. Both should begin the year in Double-A. Their pitches are good enough to where they could both break out if the control improves and health permits.

The Yankees have three righties in High-A worth monitoring. Justin Lange has incredible stuff with high-end velocity but just needs to improve his control. Jackson Fristoe improved his velocity late last season and is on the verge of a breakout season if he can stay healthy and improve his control. Baron Stuart is a big kid who went from an undrafted free agent to a legitimate prospect in one year. He has a three-pitch repertoire with big movement. His sinker has great spin and has reached 95 mph. This will be a big year for him to show he can continue to improve.

There will be a litany of talented starters competing for spots in the Low-A Charleston rotation. Luis Serna has impressed in spring training already. Trystan Vrieling will make his long-awaited debut this year. Carlos Lagrange has some of the best stuff in the system. Ryan Harvey is coming off a season where his stuff greatly improved and could break out this year.

Josh Grosz, Cade Smith, Brian Warrecker, and others from the 2023 draft are potential sleepers heading into the season. So many have gone into the gas station and came out different pitchers entirely, so you just don’t know what to expect until the season starts.

Finally, the FCL is poised to be an ocean of talent yet again. Angel Benitez is back from injury and might have better stuff than anyone from last year’s crop (high praise). Jerson Alejandro makes his highly anticipated stateside debut this year. Chalniel Arias, Sabier Marte, and Mariano Saloman are lesser-known guys who have the potential to become much bigger names this year. High school draft prospects Danny Flatt and Josh Tiedemann could make names for themselves this year too.

The Yankees farm system is stacked from top to bottom with right-handed starting pitcher prospects. The gravy train keeps on rolling, and that likely won’t change as long as the current scouting and development team stays in place. They are finding the right guys and molding them into prospects at a shocking rate. With all the names mentioned above, there are inevitably going to be several unmentioned players who seemingly come out of nowhere to impress us all in 2024. I’m here for it.

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By Greg Corcoran

The Yankees have upgraded their lineup in a big way this offseason with the addition of Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo. Even Trent Grisham represents an upgrade in some ways given that he is a lefty bat who can put the ball in the seats from time to time. In order to get Soto, however, the Yankees had to give up four pitchers who could have been part of the starting rotation next season.

Without Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, and Drew Thrope the Yankees are left with depleted depth in the starting rotation. It is a forgone conclusion that the Yankees will look outside of the organization for rotation help, but what is left of their in-house options if these guys fall through, or worse yet there’s an injury?

As it stands, the Yankees have Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Nestor Cortes on the roster. Behind Cole, there are questions of durability and/or performance, and most importantly still one open slot.

The Yankees have several players in the high minors who could fill this role in a pinch. The first is Will Warren, who is probably the best candidate. Warren pitched in Triple-A last year and caught fire towards the end of the year. He has a deep repertoire of pitches, and generates movement that allows him to miss bats. His sinker has an incredible 24-30 inches of vertical movement and 12-18 inches of horizontal movement. His slider is one of the best in the system.

In 2023, Warren had a 3.35 ERA and 149 K : 59 BB in 129 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He struggled more with walks than he has in the past, which is likely his biggest point of emphasis going forward. Will is an excellent candidate for the fifth starter spot, and even if the Yankees sign someone will likely be one of the first call-ups to log some innings.

Luis Gil is finally returning from injury after missing almost two full years. He came back late in 2023 and his stuff was back across the board. He even showed a new cutter and an improved changeup. This could bode well for him in 2024. We all saw what he can do in a small sample when he debuted with the Yankees in 2021. There may be more where that came from, and his presence on the 40-man roster gives him a leg up on the competition for a rotation spot.

Gil sits in the upper 90’s and hitters have trouble squaring him up. The key to his success will be health and durability. He’ll need to prove again that he can get through the lineup three times to remain a starter long term. In the meantime, he’s an option for the fifth or sixth starter role going into 2024.

Clayton Beeter came into his own shortly after being traded to the Yankees from the Dodgers. Since then he has increased his workload and pitched later into games. He threw 131.2 innings last year and had a 3.62 ERA splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A. He struggled with consistency for Scranton Wilkes-Barre but showed flashes of brilliance. Clayton finished the year with 165 K : 75 BB. More than anyone else on this list, he has struggled with control.

With a fastball that tops out at 97 mph and a slider, curveball, and changeup at his disposal Beeter has a good enough pitch mix to start in the major leagues. More power than finesse, Beeter may have trouble getting through a major league lineup several times. It may take more seasoning in Triple-A to get there, which is why Warren and Gil are better bets to fill the last rotation slot. If he puts in the offseason work Beeter could be ready by 2024 to break into the rotation.

Yoendrys Gomez is another player who could slot into the fifth spot in the rotation. Given the fact that he has never topped 61 innings in the minor leagues, it is unlikely the Yankees could rely on him for a full workload in 2024. He could factor in later in the season, or as a 3-4 inning starter who gives way to the bullpen early on. Gomez made his major league debut last year and looked like he belonged. He has a starter’s repertoire and good enough command to get major league hitters out.

There are many questions about his durability and whether he can have sustained success in a starting role with the Yankees. Of the four pitchers being discussed, he’s the least likely to begin the year as the fifth starter, but he’s a great guy to have stashed away in Triple-A in case a need arises during the season.

On paper, the Yankees rotation is in a tough spot. They will have to sign or trade for at least one more starting pitcher this offseason, or things could get painful quickly. Even so, these four starters are decent depth. Moreover, there is little doubt that the Yankees will sign some Triple-A depth starters once the high-priced items are off the market. There is so much uncertainty today, but things will become clearer by the time Spring Training rolls around.

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