Gary Phillips of The New York Daily News reported from Tampa that Yankees’ Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest has been throwing a sinker that the right-hander is feeling good about.
A hard-throwing starter in the Cardinals’ organization whom the Yankees targeted in the 2022 MLB Draft, he’s sat around 95 MPH with his four-seamer while getting about an extra MPH of perceived velocity.
He’s been throwing a splitter, curveball, and slider to go with that four-seamer, but now he’ll be adding a fifth pitch to that mix which could give him exactly what he needs to succeed on the mound.
In a season where the Yankees’ bullpen looks fairly suspect there will be more pressure to find some hidden gems, and Cade Winquest might be exactly that.
READ MORE: What can the Yankees expect out of Spencer Jones in 2026?
Why a Sinker Makes Cade Winquest a Real Weapon For the Yankees
Cade Winquest’s best trait is arguably his velocity, clocking in at 100 MPH as a starter which is still impressive in the era of excellent velocity.
This firm velo plays up more due to how well he gets downhill, creating shorter reaction times for hitters especially when he throws it at the top of the zone.
Collapsing a starter to a reliever role usually results in a boost in fastball velocity by about 1-1.5 MPH, which could take his 94-96 MPH fastball and make it a 95-97 MPH without factoring in the aforementioned extension he gets on the pitch
When looking at his pitch plot from 2023 when we last had accessible data on Winquest’s mix, there’s a clear role for a two-seamer or sinker to play in his mix.
The pitch plot shows a good feel for spinning the ball vertically, but there’s something missing laterally that I believe a sinker would add to his mix to help him get righties out.
A surprising note about Winquest when I initially did research for my top 30 prospect list was how stark his splits are, but the kicker is that he’s a reverse-splits pitcher.
Righties hit .288 against him with a .765 OPS while lefties hit .205 with a .541 OPS against him last season, sinkers tend to help RHP get RHB out so this should address that big issue in his mix.
His slider isn’t on the graph but if he can refine that pitch alongside having a firm sinker, this could be a high-quality bullpen piece for the Yankees.
To verify the existence of the slider you can see Winquest do the ‘slider’ glove motion in his bullpen, and I’m personally really excited to see how this Spring Training goes for him.
A couple of variables are at play here; obviously the Yankees need some more bullpen support but velocity is an area where they’ve been lacking over the last year, finishing with the 29th fastest average four-seam velocity as a bullpen.
Cade Winquest directly addresses that, and he could be an even bigger piece for this staff if he ends up performing well in relief since he could be built up as a starter in 2027 or 2028.
The development of a sinker can comple Cade Winquest’s mix and give him a second reliable fastball shape he can throw to help get same-handed batters out, which has been a struggle for him, and this is a name to watch in camp.
More about:New York Yankees
