Miguel Yajure

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2015
DSL:  0-2-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 57.0 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 5.7 K/9

Yajure made 14 starts in the DSL.  He got good results, with strong control but a low K rate.

2016
R:  1-2-0, 2.87 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 1.4 BB/9, 6.0 K/9

Yajure continued to get good results in rookie ball, allowing very few baserunners while still not missing many bats.

2017
INJURED

Yajure had Tommy John surgery and missed the season.

2018
A:  4-3-0, 3.90 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 64.2 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 7.8 K/9

In June, the Yankees sent Yajure to full season ball and he pitched well, probably better than the ERA shows, missing a few more bats.

2019
A+:  8-6-0, 2.26 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 127.2 IP, 2.0 BB/9, 8.6 K/9
AA:  1-0-0, 0.82 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

Yajure had a strong season in high A and also two late-season starts in AA.  He started to show more velocity as the season went along and also missed more bats.  After the season, Baseball America ranked him 11th in the Yankees’ system and New York added him to the 40-man roster.

2020
MLB:  0-0-0, 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 6.4 BB/9, 10.3 K/9

The Yankees sent Yajure to their training facility and called him up a few times during the season.  He made three appearances and had control problems, but otherwise pitched well.  BA moved him up to seventh in the system.

2021
A:  0-1-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 11.3 K/9
AAA:  2-3-0, 3.09 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 43.2 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 8.2 K/9
MLB:  0-2-0, 8.40 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 4.2 BB/9, 6.2 K/9

Yajure made one early-season start for the Pirates, as they were short on pitchers, then went to Indianapolis.  After one start there, though, he got called back up and threw five, one-hit, shutout innings against the Giants.  After that, it was back to Indy for two starts, then he went on the injured list with an elbow strain.  Yajure didn’t return until mid-August, making half a dozen starts for Indy and, finally, two with the Pirates.  He pitched well in AAA, but had a rough time in the majors.  Yajure’s velocity was down after he returned, to the upper-80s and low-90s.  After the season, he was slated to go to the Arizona Fall League but skipped it to get some rest, as he’d been having some back soreness.  It’s possible that accounted for the drop in velocity.

2022
AAA:  4-4-0, 6.09 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 54.2 IP, 3.8 BB/9, 8.7 K/9
MLB:  1-1-1, 8.88 ERA, 1.93 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 5.9 BB/9, 5.9 K/9

Yajure seemed like a logical candidate for the rotation heading into spring training, but he barely pitched in March.  Oddly, he  made the team anyway as a reliever.  After a month, the Pirates sent him to Indianapolis, and he bounced back and forth a couple of times after that.  In the end, Yajure appeared in 16 games, 14 starts, in AAA and a dozen games, with one start, in the majors.  The season didn’t go well.  His fastball velocity bounced back to prior levels, in fact a little above that, but he just didn’t pitch well.  Walks were a problem, especially in the majors, and he never got into a good stretch.

Yajure seems to need a thorough reset.  That may not be easy to get for him, as he’s now out of optons unless the Pirates can get a fourth option for him.