Thunder Profile: No. 14 Yankees prospect Miguel Yajure
The potential cancellation of Minor League Baseball this year coupled with a shortened Major League Baseball season could have interesting effects for the Yankees.
With that in mind, The Trentonian is examining some of the organization’s top prospects who have been assigned to the Thunder’s roster.
Next up is right-hander pitcher Miguel Yajure, rated No. 14 in the system by MLB Pipeline.
How He Was Acquired
The Yankees signed Yajure out of Venezuela for merely $30,000 on March 5, 2015 when he was still only 16 years old.
He was one of the organization’s most economical investments after shelling out $34 million in bonuses and tax penalties for all of its 201415 international signings.
What He’s Done In The Minors
Although he’s been in the system since 2015, Yajure didn’t pitch more than 100 innings in a season until last year because he missed all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow.
In 291.2 innings with 61 appearances (54 starts) in the regular season, Yajure has compiled a 2.47 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 246 strikeouts and 70 walks. He dominated in Rookie Ball in 2015 and 2016, rehabbed his way back to finish the 2018 season with 14 starts at LowA Charleston, then flourished at High-A Tampa in 2019 before ending the year with three appearances in Trenton.
Yajure, who just turned 22 on May 1, was highly impressive last season with a 2.14 ERA (led all Yankees prospects) and 1.07 WHIP in his 138.2 combined innings for Tampa and Trenton. He pitched at least seven innings six times.
In two starts for the Thunder, he allowed only one run on nine hits with 11 strikeouts and one walk in 11 innings. He then allowed three earned runs in a four-inning relief appearance during the Eastern League Playoffs.
Scouting Report
Yajure doesn’t feature overpowering stuff, as his four-seam fastball sits 92-95 mph. He also throws a changeup, cutter and curveball to round out his fourpitch mix.
The key is his strong command and varied usage of his arsenal.
“His best pitch is a solid to plus changeup and the addition of a cutter with similar upside made a huge difference in 2019,” MLB Pipeline wrote in its 2020 scouting report. “He also can spin an average curveball for strikes.”
Projection
Of all the Yankees’ top prospects, Yajure was the one projected to spend the most time in Trenton this year. He’s likely too young and too far down the pecking order to get a shot with the Yankees if there’s a shortened MLB season.
Expect to see him spend a good chunk of time with the Thunder in 2021, since being on the 40-man roster keeps him protected from the Rule 5 Draft.
It will be interesting to see how Yajure’s command translates at the upper levels. Despite brief success in
Trenton last year, he did have an abnormally high strand rate (90.9% runners left on base) and his ground ball rate dropped from 54.6% in Tampa to 35.5%. But on the other hand, it was a small sample size to begin with.
“Because Yajure isn’t overpowering, he’ll have to prove he can continue to miss bats against more advanced hitters,” MLB Pipeline wrote in its scouting report. “He throws strikes and commands his stuff better than most of the system’s pitching prospects, generating a lot of weak contact. He has a high floor as a likely No. 4 or 5 starter.”