During the week of May 3rd, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders visited the Rochester Red Wings. The series featured a handful of Yankees pitching prospects as well as a blazing hot Luis Garcia for the Rochester Red Wings.
Hayden Wesneski - Right Handed Pitcher
5 IP 4 H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 1 HBP 6 K (5/8/22)
Hayden Wesnski was somewhat of a popup prospect last season for the Yankees as he pitched across three levels before finishing his year in Triple-A. The former 6th round pick out of Sam Houston is one of the many prospects who took full advantage of the missed Covid season to work on polishing his arsenal.
His pitch metrics on his sinker/slider combination both jump off the charts and project as future plus pitches at the next level. The 6 '3 Wesneski is a quick worker on the hill, and releases from a low 3/4 slot which allows him to get great tilt on his sinker and slider. He has a deep pitch mix by showing a 4-seam, sinker, cutter, slider, curveball and a changeup. He relied heavily on his sinker/slider mix and executed the offerings to both lefties and righties. He showed great feel for both offerings and was able to get ahead early in the count with his slider, as well as using it as a putaway pitch with two strikes. The sinker ranged from 90-96 mph, and did an excellent job of missing barrels as he effectively located the pitch down in the zone. As a result, it led to swings and misses below the hitting zone or the pitch was pounded into the ground for a ground ball out. He incorporated a 4-seamer to change the eye level of hitters by elevating the offering up in the zone on numerous occasions.
His slider, otherwise known as a sweeper showed plus lateral movement all afternoon. He did a great job adding and subtracting on the offering as it ranged from 78-88 mph. There were plenty of uncomfortable takes/swings on the offering which led to the three swinging strikeouts he had with the slider. Wesneski also dumped in a few curveballs in the 76-79 range early in counts. Curveball had more of a slurvy shape and tied up a couple of right-handed hitters. His changeup was used primarily to lefties in the 82-85 mph range as a put away pitch as he had two swinging strikeouts with the offering. There is plenty to like in Wesneski as he has shown to be a power pitcher with great command of his deep pitch mix. Long term, he profiles as a back of the rotation starter in the major leagues.
Clarke Schmidt - Right Handed Pitcher
2.1 3 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 3 K (5/7/22 Game 2)
Schmidt got the nod in game two of a twin bill on Saturday afternoon. It appeared that Schmidt was on a pitch count as he was removed from the game after just 46 pitches. His line is a bit misleading as he did not give up any hard contact and the defense behind him had a couple of mishaps which led to extra base runners.
Defense aside, Schmidt relied on a steady diet of sliders during his outing. His slider had good two-plane movement with sweep. The offering sat in the mid 80s and generated a handful of whiffs. He had great command of the offering as he was not afraid to triple up with the pitch. His sinker tunneled well off of the slider as it appeared that the pitches had late movement as the pitch entered the hitting zone. The sinker would dart in under the hands of a right handed hitter and the slider would break away late due to the sweep he created with the offering. His sinker sat in the 92-94, which is a hair down from the velocity he showed earlier this season in the major leagues. Schmidt also had a good feel for his curveball as the offering had a distinct shape compared to his slider. The curveball had more of a downward action with good depth and it complemented the lateral moving slider. The former first-round pick, Schmidt, appears to have his own role with the Yankees as a swing man as he continues to be taxied back and forth between Scranton and New York.
Luis García - Shortstop
1-4, 1 1B, 3 RBI, 3 BB , 1 R , 1 K (5/7/22, 5/8/22)
García has put together a tremendous season in Triple-A Rochester this season. The soon to be 22 year old García has demonstrated good bat-to-ball skills and barrel control. This was on display when he fought off a few pitches before staying with a fastball on the outer third of the plate and laced it to left field for a base hit. He also showed a disciplined approach at the plate as he was not looking to expand his zone by chasing, this led to his three walks on the weekend. Offensively, this is the best season he has had in his young professional career. He has increased his walk rate and also decreased his strikeout rate by a couple of ticks below his career average. He has also tapped into his power more frequently and has sprayed the ball to all fields. The increase in power and improved plate discipline could be evidence that García is maturing at the plate. He works from an open stance in the box with a lot of body movement before he loads. García creates good hip shoulder separation as he works into his scap and is able to be on time despite all the extra movements in the box.
Defensively, there are questions surrounding his future position. He played both games at shortstop, but I felt that he plays with heavier feet and does not have that first step quickness on ground balls in which he has to move laterally. He does, however, have an above-average throwing arm across the diamond. I think long term, García will eventually move over to the right side of the infield and profiles as a second baseman.
Deivi García - Right-Handed Pitcher
3.2 4 H 6 R 4 ER 3 BB 4 K (Game 1 5/7/22)
This is the second time this season that I have sat in on a Deivi García outing. There were plenty of parallels between the two outings. García struggled mightily to establish his fastball. He had a difficult time commanding the offering and when he did throw a fastball in the strike zone it found a barrel and was punished by the hot hitting Rochester lineup. He also did not show much feel for his curveball or slider. In an attempt to work back into a count, García threw a curveball to a right-handed hitter which backed up and found a barrel and was punished for a home run. The inconsistent command led to three walks as well as constant traffic on the base paths. García also fell victim to the new pitch clock rule that is being enforced in the minor leagues, as he issued an automatic walk as he was unable to come set in time before the pitch clock expired. Following the outing, Garcia ERA and xFIP swelled to 9.17 and 7.33 respectively. The inability to command his offerings and put hitters away is reflected in his nearly 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio on the season.