New York Post

Loaisiga MLB debut set for Fri.

- By DAN MARTIN

Jonathan Loaisiga began this season with Single-A Tampa. On Friday, the righthande­r is scheduled to make his major league debut with the Yankees.

Manager Aaron Boone said the 23-year-old, most recently at Double-A Trenton, will take Masahiro Tanaka’s spot in the rotation against the Rays, getting the call over prospect Justus Sheffield and the more experience­d David Hale.

“He’s really talented,’’ Boone said. “We think he has a very bright future. His stuff is really good. He pounds the strike zone. For a young guy at Double-A, being on the [40-man] roster, we feel like he’ll come up here and won’t be overwhelme­d by pitching here at Yankee Stadium and the big leagues.”

Loaisiga has risen quickly through the Yankees’ system, with a fastball that reaches the high 90s and a developing changeup and curve.

Signed to a minor league contract before the 2016 season following his release by San Francisco, Loaisiga underwent Tommy John surgery during that year.

He pitched just 11 games last season, finishing with Single-A Staten Island of the New York-Penn League.

In 45 innings this season, he has struck out 58 and walked just four.

Luis Severino was 21 when he came up with the Yankees for the first time, although he had made 11 starts at Triple-A before his debut in 2015.

“The crowd is the biggest thing he’ll have to adjust to,” Severino said. “All the noise. If he can block that out, he’ll be fine. I know he has a good fastball.”

Boone said he believes Loaisiga is ready.

“We feel like with his repertoire, his stuff, he has a chance to be successful for us. We don’t necessaril­y expect him to go real deep into the game, but he has an opportunit­y to give us a quality start,” Boone said.

Loaisiga isn’t expected to stick around The Bronx once Tanaka returns from the two stiff hamstrings he suffered last weekend against the Mets. Tanaka is likely to be out for several weeks.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States