Needing some depth in their pitching staff, the New York Yankees have called up Venezuelan right-hander Miguel Yajure.
The Player
The Yankees signed Miguel Yajure out of Venezuela in July 2014 as part of paying significantly past their 2014-2015 signing pool. But unlike many other teams that surpassed their pools by signing a handful of big-name guys, the Yankees exceeded it by signing an incredible amount of depth, spending $17 million on 52 players over the period.
In all that excess, Yajure received just a $30,000 bonus, but he immediately showed himself to be near the head of that large class of signees in his first pro season. He was showing well in his stateside debut in the Gulf Coast League when his arm popped and he missed all of 2017 due to surgery.
Yajure spent 2019 building innings on his arm in his first full season back from surgery, spending nearly the entire season at High-A Tampa before finishing the season with two starts in Double-A. He posted an impressive 133/30 K/BB over 138 2/3 innings with a sparkling 2.14 ERA and 1.08 WHIP combined over the 2019 season.
The Rankings
We ranked Miguel Yajure as the #473 fantasy prospect in the game in our top-500 fantasy prospects recently. Over the offseason, he was the #8 prospect in Prospects Live's New York Yankees top-30 list.
The Pitcher
Miguel Yajure stands 6'1" and is built well, with notable strength in his legs, butt, and torso that he uses in his delivery. Accessing that strength, he doesn't get tremendously deep into his legs in his delivery, but he certainly generates torque from his upper legs and torso in his delivery. He comes from a 3/4 to a high 3/4 release point and is very athletic off the mound, which may have allowed him to return from Tommy John surgery with quality control quicker than most as he repeats his athletic delivery very well.
The Pitches
Fastball (55 present/60 future) - The fastball for Miguel Yajure is not elite in velocity, working 91-94, touching 95-96. There also isn't a matter of elite movement on the pitch. That means Yajure needs to locate the fastball exceptionally well to make it work - and he typically does. The pitch could play up better if utilized in better sequencing, especially the way he can locate the pitch in all quadrants of the zone.
Cutter (45/55) - Potentially the most inconsistent of Yajure's pitches as far as command, he still puts the low- to mid-80s cutter frequently in the zone. In reviewing starts, when Yajure missed his spot, it was typically because he got more movement than expected on the pitch, but that's also something that he could use to his advantage if he can pick the right time to use the longer tail on his cutter.
Curveball (50/60) - Yajure's curve hangs around the zone plenty, and it works in the upper 70s, which is a blessing and a curse. The pitch, when worked low in the zone, can earn plenty of ground balls, but because it doesn't have tremendous depth when it's up in the zone, the curve can sometimes look like a upper-70s meatball.
Change Up (50/60) - A bit of late break and excellent arm deception make Yajure's change easily his best pitch. He can fall in love with the pitch, and when hitters are coming to the plate looking for it, the pitch is nowhere near as effective. If he's able to sequence better, the grades on this pitch will look conservative.
Prediction
Yajure has excellent control and command of all four of his pitches, but he has a tendency to lean heavily on his change and curve in starts that I was able to view. Both pitches have plus upside with his plus command and control, but Yajure has not had to work against even upper minor league hitters much at all, let alone major league hitters. So things could be brutal right away or Yajure could come out looking like a rose if the Yankees really work with him on sequencing. He'll work out of the bullpen for now, but he's got high floor as a #4-type starter.
Fantasy Impact
Because he’s in the ‘pen, Yajure is an AL-onnly grab or a 20+ mixed roto league. Yajure will likely drop the cutter working out of the bullpen, but as the Yankees simply need innings, it's very feasible that he'll use all four pitches, and that could allow him to be a reliever that tallies strikeouts for your fantasy roster. He's got the offense behind him to gather some cheap wins even as a reliever to keep an eye on for your fantasy squad, but if he moves into the rotation, he could transition to a streamer.