The New York Yankees starting pitching has been great recently. Whether it’s Jordan Montgomery having a 3.52 SIERA and 3.24 xFIP in his last two starts, Happ’s 4.17 SIERA in his last two outings, Masahiro Tanaka getting back on track, and Paxton looking to be great when he comes back. Gerrit Cole has been really good, and it seems like he’ll just need to keep pitching to get back to being more than just good. The one guy who doesn’t get any credit however is the youngster Jonathan Loaisiga, who has been stellar this year.
One of the Most Reliable Arms On the Team
Among starters and relievers on the team, Jonathan Loaisiga (minimum 10 IP) is one of the best arms on this squad. This is by any stretch of the analytical imagination, and it’s indisputable. Here’s where he ranks in some of the most important pitching stats:
ERA: 2nd
FIP: 5th
xFIP: 2nd
SIERA: 3rd
K-BB%: 4th
While he has only 16.1 innings to his name, he’s still been elite so far. The youngster needs innings and needs to be utilized more. If the Yankees are going to use him the bullpen or in the rotation, it can’t be sparingly.
Not Getting Any Trust
I think taking Jonathan Loaisiga out of the game in the 3rd inning against the Mets is why we lost. Jonathan Loaisiga had 39 pitches with a 74% strike percentage. He was dealing and looked great with 3 SOs, 1 ER, 0 BBs, and 3 Hits. He was the hot hand in terms of pitching and the Yankees robbed themselves of a win. To not let Loaisiga pitch beyond the 3rd is asinine when your bullpen hasn’t been great. This then led to the Yankees having to resort to Nick Nelson to come in, and he surrendered a run that would contribute to the blown lead. The 2-run walk-off bomb could’ve been a game-tying one and the Yankees could’ve gone on and won said game.
This hesitation to let Johnny Lasagna pitch is what’s bugging me, and they don’t show any consistency.
Giving Jonathan Loaisiga No Defined Role
Is he a starter? Is he a reliever? I mean he gets used as a starter and pitches well then is sent to the bullpen and pitches well but is used sparingly. He is only 6th on the team in innings pitched despite his excellence as a starter. He isn’t called into games as much as Adam Ottavino despite Otto struggling a ton. Even Michael King gets used a lot, and he’s been atrocious. The New York Yankees give Loaisiga no real role or use on the team, and it’s infuriating as they need guys to be a lockdown, and instead of bringing in the gunslinger, they opt to trotting out names rather than performance. Adam Ottavino is a name not a talent, he’s been terrible since the postseason. Jonathan Loaisiga needs a defined role to be in so he can thrive.
Yes the Yankees broke a ghastly 7 game losing streak and all finally seems somewhat well in Yankee world, but the managing of Loaisiga and other arms has been a complete joke. This is despite me being a huge fan of Boone. You need to pitch your hot hand, not the guy with the more notable name.