It sounds like JP Sears will make his first major league start.
Aaron Boone, talking to reporters Monday, tabbed the 26-year-old as Wednesday’s likely starter. Sears, a southpaw, threw two scoreless innings for New York in April while rosters were still expanded.
Sears has more recently been shoving at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He owns a microscopic 0.83 ERA and 0.600 WHIP over 21.2 innings pitched. His 30 strikeouts compared to two walks is also an eye-popping ratio, and he has yet to allow a home run.
Sears has made six appearances and four starts in the minors.
In addition to his stellar numbers with the RailRiders, Sears is also getting the nod because other youngsters are not as stretched out or injured. It was recently revealed that Luis Gil needs Tommy John surgery, while Clarke Schmidt is not as built up as Sears. The Yankees played a double-header on Sunday against the White Sox, creating the need for a spot start. Sears, who last pitched on May 20, was on-track to start again Wednesday.
Sears was originally picked in the 11th round of the 2017 draft by the Seattle Mariners. The Citadel product from Sumter, South Carolina was acquired in a 2017 trade that sent Nick Rumbelow to the Mariners. The Yankees also acquired Juan Then in that deal.
Sears has a 2.88 ERA over 256 minor league innings. He has struck out 316 and walked 70 over those frames.
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