New York Yankees Rotation: Six Pitchers Ready to Make an Impact in 2017
By Wayne Cavadi
Luis Cessa, RHP
The six-foot righty may be 24 years old on paper, but he is well traveled as a professional. Signed by the Mets out of Mexico for the 2009 season as an infielder before switching to the mound in 2011, he then moved on to the Detroit Tigers before coming back to New York in the Justin Wilson deal.
His rookie campaign wasn’t terrible overall, but will be overshadowed by some inconsistencies when he was needed most. John Sickels said in his Baseball Prospect Book 2016:
“The fastball/change combination was enough for him to succeed in Double-A but he found the going much more difficult in Triple-A. Cessa has the basics to be a good pitcher. He has arm strength and can command two pitches, but without a better breaking ball I think he is destined for the pen.”
This was on display in his big league debut. He hurled 70.1 innings while making nine starts in his 17 appearances. He finished at 4-4 with a 4.35 ERA and 1.10 WHIP on the heels of an impressively low 1.79 walks per nine. That doesn’t tell the whole story.
Cessa wasn’t hit a lot (limiting opponents to a .233 batting average) but when he was hit, it was hard. Despite allowing 200 ground balls to 120 fly balls, 16 left the yard. To put that in perspective, over 70.1 innings, Cessa walked 14 batters, and allowed two more home runs over that span. That is worrisome, and often means that his breaking stuff isn’t breaking, or simply isn’t good enough to fool big league hitters. A career-low 5.89 strikeouts per nine didn’t help win anyone over either.
That being said, based on last season’s experience, Cessa will likely be the first called upon when the Yankees rotation falters.