For Yank pitcher, it’s good to be the King

TAMPA — Mike King was anxious to build off his 2019 season. It wasn’t a great season for the Yankees’ young right-hander, who suffered an injury in spring training and was limited to just 12 games.

But it finished strong, with one of those games coming in the big leagues.

“I am so glad

I had that chance,” King said of his big- league debut last September, a 14-7 victory over the Rangers in Arlington. “Obviously last year was hard, being hurt in spring training, I didn’t have a chance… but this year, with the experience, I feel like I come and I can compete.”

That was obviously the plan pre-coronavirus shutdown. With Domingo German suspended, James Paxton out a few months after February back surgery and then Luis Severino

going down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, the opportunity was there to compete for a spot. Fellow top pitching prospects Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt are younger and further back in the player development process, so King came in with a chance to make the 26man squad.

Now, if there is a 2020 season, it will be both shortened and compressed. With rosters likely expanding to 30, his shot at the big leagues is even better.

Wednesday, the owners rejected the union’s proposal for a 114-game season, as expected. While there are no further proposals expected, the owners could try to open the season under an agreement they reached with the union back in March, in which the players said they would take a prorated salary based on games played.

While the players and owners look for a financial foundation and health and safety conditions to salvage something of a 2020 season, the Yankees and other teams have to plan for a season like no other.

With the condensed schedule, the safe bet is that teams will add pitching. While the Yankees should have Paxton ready when and if a season begins, they will still likely need their young arms. King might be the first pitcher the Yankees turn to.

It wouldn’t just be based on the two innings he pitched last September, when he allowed two hits and struck out one.

That was just confirmation. After coming over in a November 2017 trade with the Marlins, King was hands-down the top pitcher in the Yankees organization in 2018.

He allowed 118 hits, struck out 152 and walked 29 over 161.1 innings pitched. In six starts for Triple-A SWB that year, King went 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA.

That hot start in the Yankees system had him coming into the 2019 season expected to be the first arm called up if there were an injury to a Yankees pitcher. Unfortunately for King, he was the first pitcher hurt, suffering an elbow injury in spring training.

Even though he had just 11 starts last season, he was able to prove that he was the pitcher the Yankees had hoped for when they made the trade.

“He’s not the Yankees’ typical pitching prospect, he doesn’t have big velocity, but he doesn’t need it. He gets his strikes on both sides of the plate. His command is really good,” one American League scout said. “He gets good run on his sinker and he knows how to use it on both sides.”

King’s two-seam fastball tops out at 95 miles an hour, but usually sits 92-94 and is his best pitch. The extraordinary control he has of that pitch on both sides of the plate helped him post an impressive 1.67 ground out/air out ratio.

He also throws a quality slider and a changeup, which were areas he was working on this winter. A native of Rhode Island, King came into camp with a head start on the new programs under pitching coach Matt Blake and trainer Eric Creesey, whom he worked with since high school.

King told a local Rhode Island television station this week that he has been able to continue working off the mound and throw to hitters during the 12-week coronavirus shutdown.

“I’ve had a catcher and a great throwing partner, so I’ve been able to continue to work and really progress,” King said. “In spring training, I was almost fully hot. I built up to four innings. I was able to see what I was doing in spring training and work on stuff… So, I’ve been able to work on things and progress as a pitcher.”