There has been a lot of buzz about the way Clarke Schmidt has looked so far for the New York Yankees. Last year there was a ton of buzz surrounding Deivi Garcia with how quickly he was rising through the New York Yankees system. Now, both of those guys deserve the hype they’ve received. I mean, I’m a huge fan of Clarke Schmidt and believe he is a future staple of the rotation. I believe Deivi Garcia has a very high ceiling as a reliever, but I’m not 100% sold on him as a starter just yet. However, there is one pitching prospect that I think fans should keep their eyes on in 2020. This is a prospect that might have the best stuff in the entire system. This prospect has a fastball that touches triple digits, an incredible curve, and 90 MPH+ splitting change. The prospect I’m referring to is Luis Medina.
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Up & Down 2019
Medina is getting ready to turn 21 and he is looking to build off of a great end to his 2019 season. Medina has really struggled with command at times during his first few years in the minors but showed flashes at the end of last year why many believe he can be the top arm in the Yankees system. Medina really struggled for the majority of 2019 with Single-A Charleston. Medina went 1-8 with a 6.00 ERA and was walking almost seven batters per nine innings. On the flip side of that, he was striking out 11 batters per nine innings. Medina has been very hot and cold during his first few years, but the stuff is undeniable when on. The location is the part that he really needs to figure out. He turned a corner in his last couple of starts with A+ Tampa last year. In his final two starts, he pitched 10.2 innings and only gave up one run. He struck out 12 batters while only walking three. Something seemed to click with him and I think that will carry over to the 2020 season.
2020 Preview
This year I expect Medina to make it up to AA. I am not expecting Medina to come close to the majors, but I do expect him to really garner a lot of attention from people in the baseball world. You’re going to see Medina fine-tune some of his mechanics and use his three-pitch mix to really go after guys when he’s on the mound. I expect to see his strikeout numbers stay about the same, but I expect those walk numbers to go down. Medina is too good of a pitcher to never figure out his command. Expect a breakout season from Medina that will turn him into a top-five prospect in the system going into the 2021 season.