CINCINNATI -- Despite the high expectations going into the year, this season didn’t go as planned for Miguel Yajure. The 23-year-old right-hander was a headliner in the Jameson Taillon trade to the Yankees, and the expectation was he would be a major league starter, perhaps as soon as 2021.
Back in April and May, he was getting spot starts in the majors, priming himself for a more permanent spot in the future. Then came a forearm injury, landing him on the 60-day injured list and causing him to miss all of June and July. After rehabbing at the Pirates’ complex in Bradenton, Fla., he slowly began a series of rehab starts, building up his pitch counts and innings.
Now, he’s on the cusp of getting back to the majors.
“I feel really good,” Yajure was telling me on the field of Great American Ball Park Tuesday. “It was a really hard year because of the injury and everything, but I feel good right now. I’ll finish strong and do my best.”
Yajure was added to the Pirates’ taxi squad Tuesday, along with fellow minor-league right-hander Tanner Anderson. With no starter officially announced for the Pirates’ game against the Phillies Friday, it would seem that Yajure has a very good chance of making his first start in the majors since May 14.
Assuming it is Yajure who gets the nod Friday, it could serve as a preview for Yajure getting a more permanent spot in the major league rotation in 2022.
"Really impressive, the way he goes about his business each day,” recently-promoted catcher Taylor Davis, who had caught Yajure at Indianapolis, said. “He's a very good worker. Intelligent kid, really smart kid, especially on the mound. Got a lot of feel on the mound for all of his pitches. The ability to throw them all for strikes. He's got a chance to be really good. I think it's someone fun for the Pirates to see and for the Pirates to have for the next couple years."
It’s that feel for his pitches that has made Yajure one of the Pirates’ best young arms. Unlike most top pitching prospects today, his fastball sits in the lower 90s, but he makes up for it with his secondary offerings. His cutter, curveball and changeup have all been graded as plus pitches, which pairs well with his good control. It’s why FanGraphs has him ranked as the Pirates’ No. 5 prospect and the 70th best overall.
Staying healthy might be his greatest challenge to reaching that ceiling. Yajure already missed all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and while this forearm injury just required rest and rehab, it did cost him a good chunk of the season. So in Florida, he worked with Vic Black, the rehab and throwing performance coach, to learn about how his body moves and make sure he takes care of his arm during his delivery.
“I’m learning how to pitch more with overthrowing,” Yajure said. “Learning a lot about me.”
If he is able to do that, the Pirates could have one of those good, young arms they sorely need.
“The fact that he's up here so fast shows you how talented he is at what he does,” Davis said. “You see guys like that [feel pitchers] make their debuts a little bit later [in their career], but he's not because he's so talented at his mix. He understands who he is as a pitcher, and if he continues to pitch like he knows he can and stays within himself, he's going to be successful."
MORE PIRATES NEWS
• The Pirates' game against the Reds Wednesday was postponed due to rain. It will be played Monday at Great American Ball Park at 1:10 p.m.
• David Bednar (oblique) is expected to throw a live batting practice in the coming days, says director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk. The goal is for him to pitch in a game again before the end of the season.
JT Brubaker (shoulder) is throwing out to 90 feet, but no decision has been made yet of if he will be able to make another start this season.
Jacob Stallings (concussion) is playing catch.
Michael Chavis (elbow) is continuing his rehab in Indianapolis, where he has only served as a designated hitter thus far.
• In minor league news, infielder Ethan Paul has been placed by Class AAA Indianapolis on the development list, and catcher Luis Hernandez was transferred to the Florida Coast League. Catcher Christian Bethancourt was reinstated from the injured list.