Yankees’ emerging pitcher looks like the solution to rotation issue

New York’s starting rotation has been a problem this season, but minor-league hurler Allan Winans has shown he can help solve it.

Entering Saturday, every Yankee starter not named Max Fried or Carlos Rodon owns an ERA of 4.75 or higher. An abysmal performance along these lines led to the demotion of veteran hurler and recent Yankees’ acquisition, Carlos Carrasco, who was DFA’d on Tuesday after posting an ERA of 5.91 over 32 innings.

Earlier this season, though, Winans made Triple-A history, striking out 10 of the first 11 batters he faced in a match against the Charlotte Knights. He would finish the game after throwing 3.2 scoreless innings, but his dominance is yet to fade. 

Thus far, through 14 innings in Triple-A this season, Winans is yet to give up a single earned run. He currently maintains a .196 opponent batting average and has totaled 24 strikeouts in that time.

Up until now, Winans has never been a strikeout pitcher. His total of 428.1 minor-league innings pitched stands above his 402 strikeouts over that span. This newfound ability to miss bats might indicate that Winans’ arsenal has improved during his time in the Yankees’ farm system, but despite his previous inability to amass whiffs, Winans had already found plenty of success pitching to contact. He currently boasts a career 2.86 ERA in the minors, the vast majority of which was compiled in the Mets’ and Braves’ systems.

The Yankees poached the 29-year-old righty in January after he was DFA’d by the Braves. Though his minor-league numbers were superb, Winans struggled during two stints in the majors, posting a 7.20 ERA across his first two years with Atlanta. After giving up 13 earned runs across just two starts in 2024, the Braves seemingly gave up on him. With his most recent performance turning heads in Triple-A, it appears the Braves’ loss is the Yankees’ gain.

With Carrasco gone, Winans seems like the logical choice to take his spot in the rotation. Other starting options that have seen success in Triple-A include Brandon Leibrandt (3.24 ERA) and Jake Woodford (3.63 ERA), but neither has been able to match Winan’s stellar performance. If Winans can begin to replicate his success at the major-league level, something he has struggled to do before, he will be a critical piece of the Yankees’ pitching staff going forward. As of now, it looks like he will soon get his chance.