Clarke Schmidt has endured plenty of ups and downs during his time with the New York Yankees. Manager Aaron Boone revealed what it is going to take for Schmidt to figure things out and become a reliable MLB starting pitcher, per Talkin' Yanks of Jomboy Media.
“Here's the deal, I believe the cutter is, for him, an absolute weapon and equalizer for lefties,” Boone told Jimmy O'Brien of Jomboy Media. “But this all starts and ends with fastball command. He's (Schmidt) gotta be able to command the fastball at a certain level to be a successful starter. And if he can do that, now all of the sudden the cutter starts to really play. The curveball and the changeup start to really play. Because he does have the weapons and the repertoire to get it done.”
The Yankees are dealing with a number of injury concerns in their rotation at the moment. Carlos Rodon is working his way back from a spring training injury, and New York is hopeful he can return sooner rather than later. However, he recently suffered a minor setback. Meanwhile, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas are also both injured.
As a result, Boone expects Schmidt to receive a crucial opportunity to prove himself to the Yankees.
“This is that time where he's got a real opportunity to take advantage,” Boone said. “And he's gonna get those opportunities right now.”
Clarke Schmidt has the potential to become an impactful big league starting pitcher. It will be interesting to see if he can reel in the command and consistently work in the strike zone.
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