GOT HIS SCHMIDT TOGETHER!
Yankees righty says his confidence is high heading into spring training
Clarke Schmidt may lack in professional innings pitched, but the Yankees’ young right-hander does not lack for confidence. After limited success in three appearances during the coronavirus-pandemic shortened 2020 season, Schmidt says he is coming into spring training fighting for a spot in the Yankees’ rotation.
“If you look at my results last year, I didn’t do what I wanted to do. I didn’t have a very good year results-wise and, I think maybe you would talk to somebody and they would say that would kind of hurt their confidence. For me it helped my confidence, because I know that I can get these guys that are there out,” Schmidt said on the YES Network last week. “So it’s not like my confidence took a knock on it at all.”
Schmidt will go into spring training with a chance to contribute to the big league club. The Yankees right now have Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery locked in after the departures of Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and James Paxton via free agency. GM Brian
Cashman said last week he would add pitching if he was able to this winter, but the Yankees are trying to stay under the $210 million luxury tax threshold and already have significant contract commitments. Cashman also talked about the Yankees young arms who stepped up in 2020, like Deivi Garcia, Mike King and Schmidt being given a chance in 2021. Unlike last spring, Schmidt is now on the 40man roster.
Still, Schmidt not only had limited experience in 2020, he has limited professional experience overall. Drafted 16th overall in 2017 out of the University of South Carolina, Schmidt was coming off Tommy John surgery when the Yankees picked him. He has pitched just 30 professional games — including the three in the big leagues last season. The righty had a fairly meteoric rise in 2019. He recorded 102 strikeouts in 90.2 innings while pitching to a 3.47 ERA.
In three appearances — one start — in the big leagues in 2020, Schmidt went 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA. He struck out seven and walked five in 6.1 innings pitched.
That was what we saw in 2020. Schmidt spent the majority of his time in Scranton, the Yankees’ Alternate Training Site, where he worked with Yankees pitching director Sam Briend and pitching coordinator Desi Druschel.
“It was really a lot of development. I mean working with Sam Briend and Desi, our pitching directors, being with them day in and day out, having them watch all my throwing sessions all my bullpens and games, it was way more hands on,” Schmidt said of the alternate site. “So, I got a lot of development that you typically wouldn’t get in a year.”
Schmidt said he focused his efforts on this “four-seam profile” and “added a little bit more rise to compliment my two-seam.”
He also said that he continues to work on “repeating mechanics late in games” and “just attack the zone and kind of not be afraid to nibble around the corners.”
Schmidt, 24, said he is preparing this winter as if there will be a normal spring training, beginning in the middle of February, hoping that the coronavirus vaccine will allow for baseball and the world to return to some normalcy.
For him, that means going into spring believing he can make and contribute to the big league club.
“I’m excited to come into spring training fighting for rotation, that means a lot to me,” Schmidt said. “I think last year there was kind of some extenuating circumstances with the roster size and limitations and stuff like that, not being on the(40-man) roster, which is not the case (now). So I’m hungry and I’m ready to go and my confidence is higher than ever just because of the work that I’m putting in and the preparation. I think for me the confidence lies in the preparation that I’m putting in.
“So yes, I’m very confident going into this season.”