The New York Yankees’ young right-handed prospect Michael King is a man on a mission: starting rotation or bust!
Many New York Yankees fans probably don’t know about Michael King. The 23-year-old was acquired from the Miami Marlins for international bonus pool money last offseason, and then let his arm do the talking.
King rocketed through New York’s minor league system in 2018, starting at High-A Tampa and finishing at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He appeared in 25 games (24 starts) and went 11-5 with an eye-popping 1.79 ERA. King also posted a WHIP of 0.91 and struck out 152 hitters in 161.1 innings.
Now, per Dan Martin of the New York Post, the former Boston College star has his next goal set. That is to earn a spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation:
“It’s definitely in the back of my mind,” King said of reaching the majors in 2019. “I’m going to go into spring training and try to prove myself. I know the Yankees are probably gonna buy some big-time guy. That’s how they are, no matter what. I don’t care who they have, I’m gonna try to beat them out and prove I deserve a spot here.”
It’s certainly not impossible for King to make a start in pinstripes this year. MLB ranked him as the Yankees’ No. 22 prospect last season and he should wind up higher this year. However, every spot in the rotation is currently spoken for, so King will probably begin the year at Triple-A. That is, unless manager Aaron Boone opts for a six-man rotation, or if someone gets injured.
Either way, King can be certain of one thing. People will be paying plenty of attention to him in 2019.
