Marcus

Stroman

Stroman’s velocity was a little better tonight, as he averaged 90.6 mph with his sinker. He was still hit fairly hard, but most of the contact was on the ground and he kept the Yankees in the game while they were getting no-hit by Bryan Woo. Stroman did get checked on towards the end of his outing, as it looked like he tweaked his knee running to cover first. However, he was able to remain in after one warmup throw. He ends the first half with a 6.66 ERA in six starts.

This move has been discussed for a few days, but is now official. The 24-year-old has been great this season with a 2.82 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 99/26 K/BB ratio across 76 2/3 innings (15 appearances, 14 starts) between Triple-A and Double-A. He has a high-velocity cut/ride fastball with two good secondaries, but his start on Wednesday against the Mariners will be a big step up in competition. If he performs well, he could remain in the rotation until Luis Gil returns and potentially even keep a spot over Marcus Stroman after that.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Gil will be built up as a starting pitcher, which means he’ll need a handful of starts before pushing for activation. It’s possible he returns in late July, but early August could be more likely. When he does return, he will push either Cam Schlittler or Marcus Stroman out of the rotation.

Stroman danced into and out of trouble and gave up tons of loud contact, but still managed to put himself in position to earn the win against his former team. It’s a marvel how he can ever be effective though with practically the least velocity in the entire league. He threw just two pitches over 90 mph in this game and still threw his sinker nearly 70% of the time against right-handed batters. With Clarke Schmidt’s injury, he figures to have a secure spot in this rotation though and lines up to face the Mariners next time out.

Stroman was excellent in his first start for the Yankees since April 11. He kept the A’s off the board through four innings before Willie MacIver took him deep for a solo homer in the fifth. He’d end his day after scattering just two other hits and two walks. The 34-year-old right-hander will look to build off the strong start in a road matchup against the Mets on Friday.

Stroman lacks the strikeout upside to merit consideration for a roster spot in shallow fantasy formats, but he represents a legitimate upgrade for the fifth spot in New York’s rotation at the moment. The 34-year-old veteran made just three starts before hitting the injured list back in mid-April with knee inflammation. He shouldn’t have much of a governor on his workload from a pitch count standpoint after throwing 65 pitches in his final rehab outing. It’s a tough matchup right out of the gate against an improving Athletics’ lineup in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, which limits his streaming appeal to extremely deep mixers.

Stroman is scheduled to throw approximately 70 pitches on Tuesday in a Triple-A start and then could be activated for a weekend start if all goes well. The Yankees have an open spot in the rotation with Ryan Yarbrough (oblique) landing on the IL. Allan Winans will start on Monday, and it seems like he or Stroman will be the choices for a weekend spot in the rotation.

Stroman struck out four and threw 55 pitches (34 strikes) in his second rehab outing. The 34-year-old veteran figures to be an option for New York’s pitching staff at some point in the next few weeks, but it’s a bit unclear what his exact role will wind up being.

Stroman punched out six batters, issued two walks and threw 46 pitches (27 strikes) in his rehab debut. He was sitting in the 89-mph range with his sinker, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty. The 34-year-old veteran righty is aiming to rejoin New York’s rotation mix at some point in the coming weeks as he wraps up his rehabilitation process from knee inflammation.

The veteran has been on the IL with knee inflammation since April 12, so this rehab stint will likely be a lengthy one. Depending on the timeline for fellow starter Luis Gil’s return from his lat injury, there may not be a spot in the rotation for Stroman by the time he’s healthy.