Domingo German Emerging as the Ace of the Yankees Staff
By Jason Evans
With Luis Severino and James Paxton on the IL, Domingo German has emerged as the ace of the New York Yankees staff
Back in December of 2014, the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins swung a deal sending Martin Prado and David Phelps to South Beach for Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Jones and a pitching prospect named Domingo German. Jones had a forgettable career as a New York Yankee, Eovaldi was inconsistent and injured. German had some injury issues himself, but now, in his age 26 season, may be developing into what the New York Yankees thought they had all along.
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German already has six wins, tied with the Rays’ Tyler Glasnow for the most in the American League. Let’s face it, pitcher wins don’t tell the entire story.
German is fourth in the AL with a 2.35 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .158 against him. He’s struck out 39 in 38 innings. German’s strength has been the development of a better mix of his pitches.
In 2018, German threw his curve 36% of the time and his fastball 30%. This year, he’s used his curve 34.5% of the time, while his fastball usage has increased to 33.8%. With this change in his pitch selection, his curve has been much more effective, even if it doesn’t spin as much as it did last year. His fastball, however, is in the 90th percentile of spin rate. His strike percentage is up to 45% from 42% in 2018. The whiff rate has gone up to 45% on the curve from 41% last year. He’s getting much more weak contact and a top five WOBA against of .211.
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Can German keep this up all year? There may be some regression at some point. The 73 point difference in his wOBA and xwOBA is 12th in baseball. The 73 point difference in BAA and xBAA is 10th in baseball. He also only threw 93 innings last year due to injury and is currently at 38.1. With all the injuries the New York Yankees have in their rotation, how will they manage his innings so he can be used in September and a possible playoff run in October?
For now, the New York Yankees and their fans should enjoy the ride. With J.A. Happ and Masahiro Tanaka struggling, it looks like there’s a new ace in the Bronx.