Yankees see surprising upside in unknown bullpen arm

The Yankees have churned out bullpen arms at an unprecedented pace over the past few seasons. Despite the fact they are down Tommy Kahnle, Scott Effross, and Lou Trivino, not to mention Jonathan Loaisiga needing elbow surgery, the team still manages to produce quality innings

With the bullpen dealing with some injuries, they needed Nestor Cortes to step up and put together a dominant performance on Monday. Fortunately, he was able to do just that, tossing eight scoreless innings before heading the ball over to former Yankees 10th round in 2018, Josh Maciejewski.

The Yankees May Have Something in Josh Maciejewski

At 28 years old, Maciejewski stands at 6’3″ and 175 pounds, having a good frame that allows him to deliver with substantial break and leverage. The lefty has spent the last few seasons with the Yankees’ minor league teams, pitching 23.2 innings in Triple-A last year, hosting a 3.42 ERA.

Maciejewski primarily throws a change-up and sinker but only averages 90.8 mph on his fastball. However, both of his pitches produce a tremendous amount of horizontal movement.

In his first MLB performance on Monday night, he tossed a scoreless frame to hand the Yankees a 7–0 victory. it only took him four pitches to get through the last three batters, so it is safe to say the Yankees may have some talent to work with here.

Maciejewski’s sinker produces 10% more inches of horizontal break than the average MLB pitcher and 22% more with his change-up. That type of deception will serve him well against lefty batters, and the Yankees will likely utilize him.

Thankfully, he has three minor league options remaining, so expect the Bomber to send him back down and promote him several times this season to give others rest and support the bullpen’s efficiency.