The Yankees Rotation Depth Inventory: May Wrap-Up

Welcome to the second monthly installment of the Yankees Rotation Depth Inventory.

Despite the remarkable consistency of the Yankees’ starting pitchers this season, attrition hits every rotation sooner or later. It came Thursday, with Clarke Schmidt landing on the IL with a lat injury. In this column, I’ll be profiling the potential next men up (much like Andrés did yesterday with position players), giving a regular update on the candidates to fill a potential rotation spot if and when one arises.

The statistics listed for each pitcher below are based on their performance since the last edition of the Rotation Depth Inventory on May 2nd, not their season-long performance.

Will Warren

By the numbers: 0-4, 15.88 ERA, 17 IP, 15 K, 10 BB, 1.157 Opp. OPS

The last four weeks have not been kind to Will Warren. Once neck-and-neck with Luis Gil for the No. 5 rotation spot out of spring training, the 24-year-old pitched to a 2.33 ERA in 27 April innings and looked prime to take the next step. Instead, the wheels fell off in May; he allowed no fewer than seven runs in each of his four starts this month.

What to make of this Jekyll-and-Hyde performance? Warren’s walks were up a bit, but not dramatically. Instead, it’s been an endless parade of hits, punctuated by some timely, run-producing damage by his opponents. The long ball hurt him more than in April too, as he gave up seven homers in four May starts, with multiple bombs sailing out in three of them.

The good news? Warren’s May BABIP of .407 will presumably come down and indicates some bad luck in the mix — though that doesn’t account for the dingers and his mark of .214 in April suggests his high level of performance that month was also unsustainable. Still, it’s hard to explain away seven runs an outing, regardless of the advanced numbers you peruse. Warren has assuredly slid down the pecking order should a rotation spot with the big club open up (unless the Yankees’ hands are forced).

Clayton Beeter

By the numbers: 0-0, 2.00 ERA, 9 IP, 9 K, 8 BB, .477 Opp. OPS

The top candidate to fill the void created by Warren’s frightful May, Clayton Beeter has been on the shelf since May 20th with a shoulder injury. There isn’t much information yet on the extent of the injury, with Aaron Boone referring to it only as “discomfort.”

Teams are notoriously cagy about minor-league injuries, as there is often much less pressure to publicly disclose anything. As such, we’ll have to watch and wait to see if the right-hander misses an extended period of time or returns soon to pick up where he left off.

If the latter, Beeter has looked excellent so far at Triple-A. In what felt like an odd piece of poetic justice, that strong performance included a strikeout of the rehabbing Joey Gallo, for whom he was acquired in an August 2022 trade with the Dodgers.

He could quickly re-enter the picture to fill in for the Yankees with a couple of good outings. In the meantime, he’s another depth option down.

Cody Poteet

By the numbers: 1-0, 7.82 ERA, 12.2 IP, 18 K, 7 BB, .733 Opp. OPS

Sometimes, slow and steady truly does win the race. After an excellent April — including a six-inning, one-run spot start with the Yankees in Cleveland — Cody Poteet struggled in May, allowing 11 runs in just 12.2 innings.

Still, his overall Triple-A stats on the year are only a shade worse than what you’d expect (4.05 ERA in 33.1 innings), and the MLB cup of coffee provides confidence he can fill in once again at a respectable level if needed. With Warren’s implosion and Beeter’s ailing shoulder, it should be no surprise that Poteet got the call to replace an injured Clarke Schmidt on Saturday despite his inconsistent performance at Triple-A and a recent blister injury of his own that landed him on the IL.

Matt Sauer

By the numbers (with KCR): 0-0, 19.80 ERA, 5 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 1.368 Opp. OPS

It’s been a whirlwind few months for Matt Sauer. The former Yankees second-round pick was selected by the Royals in December through the Rule 5 Draft. After working primarily as a starter in the Yankees’ system, the Royals put him in their bullpen.

The 25-year-old Sauer got off to a solid start, allowing runs in only one of his first eight appearances, albeit exclusively in lower-leverage situations.

The right-hander’s fortunes turned, though, as he allowed 12 runs in his next seven innings of work, resulting in his ouster from Kansas City.

Per the rules of the Rule 5 Draft, the Royals were forced to offer Sauer to the Yankees since they were unable to find a new home for him. The Yanks accepted, and he was assigned back to Triple-A Scranton. It’s unclear if, encouraged by his promising first few outings with Kansas City, the Yankees will keep him in the bullpen or if he will return to a starting role. Even if they do view Sauer as a starter long-term, he will need to be stretched back out and would be unavailable to start in the majors for at least a few weeks while doing so.

Yoendrys Gómez

By the numbers (at Triple-A): 0-1, 2.31 ERA, 11.2 IP, 13 K, 11 BB, .635 Opp. OPS

It’s been quite the month for Yoendrys Gómez. The 24-year-old performed well in three Triple-A starts before getting a brief call to “The Show,” striking out the side in order to secure an 8-0 Yankee victory over the Padres on May 24th.

That was just a short-term move though since Nick Burdi was hurt and Ian Hamilton wasn’t ready to return from the COVID-IL yet. Now back down at Triple-A, Gómez remains an intriguing option. On the one hand, he’s already on the 40-man roster and has been pitching well lately. On the other, he hasn’t pitched more than four innings in any start this season and is walking the world, with a 15.5-percent walk rate (or 5.9 BB/9 if you prefer that stat) and an untenable 1.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Yankees have never had a particularly long in-game leash for Gómez — his 72 on May 19th were a season high — and the control issues likely play into that calculus.

At this stage, if the right-hander does get called back up, it will likely be in a last-man-in-the-bullpen role once again rather than as a starter, unless some piggybacking is involved. Gómez will need to demonstrate he can pitch more efficiently to take the next step.

Injuries and ineffectiveness have decimated the Yankees’ Triple-A group, weakening their depth in the wake of Clarke Schmidt’s injury. Due to his experience and ability to throw 80-plus pitches when stretched out, Cody Poteet was the most viable candidate to fill a potential opening at the big-league level despite his recent scuffles and blister injury.

If Poteet struggles or another rotation spot opens up, Will Warren could re-enter the conversation with a couple of strong outings, as could Clayton Beeter if he can get healthy and both Yoendrys Gómez and Matt Sauer if they get stretched out in pitch effectively in higher-volume roles. Otherwise, the Yankees will likely see if Poteet can fill the gap until reinforcements arrive off the IL.

Editor’s note: This article originally ran before news of Schmidt’s injury and the plans for Poteet’s Saturday call-up.