Back in the 2017 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees selected a right handed starter from Puerto Rico who is turning out to be quite the steal. The right hander with a quality pitching repertoire is Harold Cortijo. Cortijo is not the type of pitcher who is going to light up a radar gun, but he is the type of guy who is going to pound the strike zone and feature several pitches. Cortijo has a really good feel for his fastball which sits in the lower 90s and he throws three breaking pitches the best of which would be his slider. Cortijo also features a decent curveball and a changeup that sits in the mid-80s which compliments his fastball well. Cortijo is coming off of his second full season in the Yankees system, and he has shown a lot of promise early on in his career.
2019 Outlook
Last year, Cortijo spent the entire season with the Charleston Riverdogs. Cortijo made 14 starts and posted a 5-4 record with a 3.45 ERA. Throughout his starts, Cortijo would show off his balanced pitching attack. In the tape that I’ve watched, he does a really good job at mixing it up. Having four pitches really gives him plenty of options when he’s not feeling one of his pitches. While his record and ERA are not bad, there was a number that was a little concerning when looking at Cortijo’s body of work last year. Cortijo had a WHIP of 1.33 and had a much higher walk rate than he had the year before. The competition was obviously better, but I will also attribute this to Cortijo trying to work on all of his pitches. A lot of minor league experience is about perfecting and working on your pitches. It’s a lot like how players in the majors use Spring Training. I mean Gerrit Cole was lit up by the Tigers this year in Spring Training, but I would bet my house that doesn’t happen in the regular season. This early into his minor league career, Cortijo is still searching for his main mix and it helps that he has several options to choose from.
Where to Improve
Moving forward, I would like to see Cortijo get those walk numbers back down. I would also like to see him fine tuning his pitches because the only one he seems to have a really good feel for is his fastball. I’ve seen plus potential in the off speed pitches, but the lack of consistency hurts him. Some have suggested that he could be a really good arm out of the bullpen, but I want to see the Yankees continue to push him as a starter for now. It’s not often that you can find a pitcher who is comfortable throwing four different pitches. He’s got good size to be a starter and I think he has the makeup to be a starter. I don’t know if Cortijo is ever going to be an ace level pitcher, but I definitely think his potential is as high as a middle of the rotation kind of arm. I’ll be very curious to watch Cortijo progress as his minor league career continues.