An Early Riser in 2018
RHP Clarke Schmidt was drafted just last year and got exactly zero innings in the Yankees system. But it was the same Tommy John that kept him sidelined that allowed the Yanks to draft him 16th.
Here’s what they got according to Oliver Macklin at MLB.com:
"Schmidt, the Yankees’ first-round pick and the No. 16 selection in the Draft, ranked second in the country with a 1.34 ERA in nine starts for the University of South Carolina this season. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Schmidt was named to USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List for the second straight year, while striking out 70 batters in 60 1/3 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .194 batting average. “Everyone always likes to give me the [comparison] to Zack Greinke,” Schmidt told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch on June 13. “He’s a strike-thrower, he’s a competitive guy. That’s something I pride myself on, competitiveness. I like to pitch with a chip on my shoulder.”"
While it is unlikely that Clarke competes in pinstripes this year, his pedigree and draft position have to make him a possibility. But the only way that happens is out of the bullpen.
Now on to a slam dunk.