With the New York Yankees already searching for answers at the cost of the injury bug, they will likely have to resort to their youth for aid. Starting pitchers Luis Severino and CC Sabathia have both went down with injuries – inflamed shoulder and knee scope/cleaning artery leading to CC’s heart.
Severino was expected to be the opening day starter, but in his absence, J.A. Happ or Masahiro Tanaka will need to fill the role.
The more pressing question is: who fills in for Severino in the Yankees’ rotation?
The answer could be several players, but the one I’m most intrigued by is Domingo German. Despite a 5.57 ERA with 2 wins and six losses in 2018, there’s optimism surrounding the 26-year-old. He earned 102 strikeouts over 85.2 innings, averaging well over one strikeout per inning.
On the downside, he did allow 15 homers and somehow managed to nearly give up a run on every hit against him. Opposing batters scored 55 runs on 81 hits. That statistic alone is concerning, but the experience at the top level and time during the offseason to eliminate some of his mistakes could take his game to the next level.
The New York Yankees should utilize German more this season:
Some interesting statistics related to German – his strikeout rate was 9th best in the league last season. Both his changeup and curveball were deadly, generating 20.08% and 18.71% whiff rates against batters.
With a 40.4% fly ball rate, German has struggled with home runs throughout his entire career. That has been the one primary knock against him, but I believe he deserves another chance to showcase his abilities. This year’s spring training has shown us why it’s too early to give up on him – he tossed 4.2 innings with 7 strikeouts and no walks.
Essentially, if he can keep his fly ball rate down, he will be a dominant pitcher with massive upside. A strikeout rate like his is elite, but he must be consistent with batters and not shy away from putting them away.