“When I got there to the mound, I was a little scared,” Michael Ynoa said after his major league debut on Tuesday evening at U.S. Cellular Field.
Truth be told, White Sox fans were probably a little scared, too.
After seeing a bullpen that just a month ago was the best in baseball go through a revolving door of 14 pitchers (and one position player) so far this season, and drop to just the ninth-best in baseball, all Sox fans wanted was for someone to come in and stop the bleeding in a series that saw the Detroit Tigers offense score 21 runs in two games.
In came Ynoa. Though the White Sox did not rally for a dramatic win Tuesday night as they did in the series opener, they instead potentially saw a flash of long-term hope for a recently very tired bullpen.
Ynoa pitched two scoreless innings of relief Tuesday night in a major league debut that was eight turbulent years in the making. He struck out two and walked as many while showing off the heat, getting his fastball as high as 96 mph on the evening.
Before even throwing a professional pitch, Ynoa was once the 20th-ranked prospect by Baseball Prospectus in 2009 at age 17 while in the Oakland A’s organization. However, Ynoa’s career took a turn down a path of significant injuries that included shoulder issues, and elbow tendinitis that led to Tommy John surgery in 2010. Ynoa would not throw another pitch until 2012, and had quickly become a shell of the pitcher who once graced that top-20 prospect list and netted him the highest signing bonus in Oakland A’s history at the time.
But at just 24-years-old now, reinventing himself with what he has left was the only option for Ynoa. His gratitude for the opportunity to play in the majors in any capacity after the struggles he’s faced did not go unnoticed.
“I’m happy to be here, and thanks to the White Sox (for giving) me this opportunity. And I’m really happy. I’m really happy.” Ynoa told the media after his initial call up with the White Sox in April when centerfielder Adam Eaton went on the paternity list. Ultimately, Ynoa did get the chance to appear due to the context being postponed by rain. The wait continued, but Ynoa was suited up and closer to his dream than he’d been in nearly a decade.
The rain fell again on Tuesday evening at U.S. Cellular Field, yet it wasn’t enough to deter Ynoa from the inevitable any longer. After the nerves settled and Ynoa arrived at the threshold of his long-dreamed destination, the calm and collected demeanor of a man trying to prove his worth again took over.
“I think at this point of his career he’s been around long enough where he knows this is his shot” said Sox announcer Steve Stone during the broadcast.
Indeed, this was Ynoa’s shot, and he did not fail to impress. Let’s take a look at a couple of the key moments Ynoa had on the night, and what they mean.
Strikeout 1: Ian Kinsler
Ynoa struggled to command his fastball in this sequence, which seemed to be a bit of a common theme on the evening. However, what he did do was successfully employ his ability to change eye levels of the batter despite the lack of command, and showed he can improvise in order to stay alive. After three fastballs outside the zone, one on which he induced a swing and miss, Ynoa was able to pound the zone and keep himself in the count before switching to the slider for a called strike three. Ynoa’s fastball control may be an issue that gets him into jams in the future, but his ability to tighten up when he’s behind in the count along with good sequencing can serve as an effective countermove.
Strikeout 2: Nick Castellanos
Ynoa showed that is slider has the ability to be a plus secondary for him, but it isn’t without it’s flaws. However, this was still an exceptional sequence in which he not only used his slider, but broke out his excellent curveball as well, showing a strong mix of potential plus pitches in his arsenal that explain why he was once heralded as a starter.
Ynoa starts off the sequence with a well located 94 mph high fastball that Castellanos fouls off. Changing speeds, Ynoa shows off a brilliant 80 mph curveball with exceptional movement that leaves Castellanos stunned to go behind 0-2. Ynoa then offers up three-straight sliders which were just a bit wild, but still able to induce a swing-and-miss for the final strike. Being able to locate his first two pitches in the zone to get ahead in the count left room for Ynoa to experiment with the slider and eventually grab the final strike swinging, even while missing the zone.
Walk 1: Jose Iglesias
After starting off Iglesias with a low fastball that could have easily been a called strike one, Ynoa throws a slider in on Iglesias that misses for ball two and quickly falls way behind in the count. Continuing to change eye levels on Iglesias, Ynoa comes back to the same spot with the fastball but again does not receive the call.
In this instance, Ynoa was hitting his spot, but not receiving swings from Iglesias or favorable calls on borderline pitches from home plate umpire Quinn Walcott. Ynoa comes right down the middle with a 94 mph fastball for strike one to make the count 3-1, but then misses inside againg with a high fastball, surrendering a walk. This walk could have easily been avoided, but as we can see here, the stuff is good, and sometimes this is just how the chips fall on a hitter who has raised his walk rate by over three percentage points this season.
Walk 2: J.D. Martinez
Ynoa’s second walk on the evening was to a Tigers hitter who was on base four times already on the evening, and had six hits over two games in there series. Can you blame him pitching him in this way and attempting to avoid any damage here?
Though Ynoa has only pitched two innings in the major leagues, his overall presence on the mound as well as his ability to work with what he currently has was really impressive, and shows the potential for longevity in a relief role. He may not be perfect, and his next two innings pitched may not be perfect either, but Ynoa has the stuff to prove that with the proper guidance and delicate usage, though his best days may be behind him, he still has quite a bit of value to offer.
Lead photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports