Yankees promote RHP Elmer Rodriguez for Wednesday debut

The New York Yankees are about to show off their pitching depth once again as No. 3 prospect Elmer Rodriguez will make his debut in Texas on Wednesday.

Aaron Boone annouced Rodriguez’s promotion during his weekly appearance on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast.

The 22-year-old Rodriguez arrives after a torrid start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s 1-2 in four starts, but has a 1.27 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 21.1 innings. The three walks per nine innings (BB/9) are a concern, but he’s still learning how to pitch.

Based on the timing of his promotion, with Giancarlo Stanton hitting the injured list with a calf strain, it seems the plan is to start Rodriguez Wednesday to give Will Warren some extra rest ahead of a weekend series with Baltimore.

In which case, Yankees fans should expect fairly electrifying stuff from Elmer Rodriguez. The young Puerto Rican throws a mid-90s fastball that can touch 99 mph. Rodriguez also throws a slider, curveball, and a split-change. All of that sounds like a recipe for whiffs, and lots of ’em.

And if Rodriguez pitches well? Another feather in the cap for general manager Brian Cashman, pitching coach Matt Blake, and director of pitching Sam Briend. Because the Yankees’ young pitchers this season have been, to put it bluntly, stupid good.

Let’s start with Warren, who led the AL with 33 starts as a rookie and had the usual growing pains, posting a 4.44 ERA despite looking fine in the deeper metrics. He’s currently sporting a 2.59 ERA and 2.78 FIP through six starts while also leading baseball with a 125 Pitching +, which is essentially in-game decision making.

And how about offseason acquisition Ryan Weathers? After being beset by injuries with the Marlins, he now looks like a whole new pitcher. The difference: Weathers has moved off of his four-seam fastball and is now throwing a sinker more often. His ground ball rate has dipped about 3.5 points to 40.9%, but his soft contact rate has increased almost 6.5 points to 23.6%.

Do we even need to mention Cam Schlittler? The man has a sub-2 ERA and FIP, a sub-3 xERA and xFIP, only throws fastballs, and somehow has a ground ball rate of 49.4%. Gerrit Cole’s career-best ground ball rate is only 49.2%, and that came a second year player with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

So where does this leave Elmer Rodriguez? Ideally, his stuff plays in the majors and he generates lots of whiffs against a generally subaverage Rangers lineup. However, Cole and Carlos Rodon are nearing their returns from elbow injuries. This means Rodriguez’s stint in the Bronx could be short-lived, even with Luis Gil sent to the minors.

Regardless, it’s going to be an exciting game with Rodriguez on the mound.