Call to the pen
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New York Yankees prospect Jose Mesa Jr. succeeding as starting pitcher

By Tim Boyle

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 10: Fans hold up their cell phones after a bank of lights went out in the 12 inning during the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox on April 10, 2015 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 10: Fans hold up their cell phones after a bank of lights went out in the 12 inning during the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox on April 10, 2015 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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New York Yankees prospect Jose Mesa Jr. made a switch from a relief pitcher to a starter this season. Will the promising results earn him a spot in their rotation of the future?

Second-generation pitcher Jose Mesa Jr.‘s apple fell a little far from the tree but didn’t roll completely down any hill. Although he is following in his father Jose Mesa’s footsteps as a professional baseball pitcher, the younger “Joe Table” is finding success as a starter and not in the bullpen.

In his fourth professional baseball season, Mesa is getting his first consistent taste of the first inning. A down year in 2016 was the first nudge toward a change. During his brief stint last season with the High-A Tampa Yankees, opposing batters knocked him around. Though he pitched well with them this year as a reliever and starter, it’s his new role that is catching everyone’s attention, as detailed by Pinstriped Prospects.

Prior to 2017, Mesa only made one start. The Gulf Coast Yankees gave him that opportunity in his first professional season back in 2014. Aside from that one appearance all of his innings have been in relief. For the most part, the results were promising but nothing fantastic.

The switch from the bullpen to the starting rotation has completely turned his fortunes around. Mesa has gone from an insignificant 24th-round draft pick with name value to someone with a ticket to the big leagues.

Since joining the Double-A Trenton Thunder, Mesa has started five games and made three relief appearances. Over those 34.1 innings, he’s 4-0 with a preposterous 0.79 ERA.

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Perhaps many believed it was Mesa’s bloodline that made him relief pitcher material. After all, the elder Mesa saved 321 games in his career.

Mesa has yet to receive much attention in terms of top prospect rankings. He’s not on MLB.com’s top-30 list of Yankees prospects. At best, he’s the 18th-best pitcher they have in the system because of how loaded the Yankees’ farm is with minor league pitchers.

Lists aside, Mesa is having a very productive year. If anyone asked where he’d finish 2017, few would have guessed in Trenton as a starting pitcher.

One key to Mesa’s success is his control. Although his strikeout numbers have slightly dipped down to 10.8 per nine, his command of the strike zone is getting much better. He has issued walks at a rate of a 3.4 per nine. That’s nearly half as many as he was surrendering last year.

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As for the lower strikeout totals, this is because he is getting time as a starter and not exclusively in relief. It makes sense for the strikeout rates to drop when someone is pitching more innings and not just one or two in an appearance.

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