Yajure shows some promise, areas to work on in MLB return

PHILADELPHIA -- Before Friday, the last time Miguel Yajure pitched in the majors was May 14, a time in the season where Will Craig was batting cleanup, Troy Stokes Jr. was on the bench and Ka'ai Tom and Gregory Polanco played the corner outfield positions.

Given the context of all the changes that have come to the Pirates since then, that game seems much further in the past than just four months.

On Friday, Yajure made his first appearance with the Pirates since that May evening, going 3 2/3 innings against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Pirates would go on to lose, 8-6.

Again, given the context of the 2021 Pirates season, a loss where at least one of their top prospects isn't all bad. Especially for an outing that was long overdue.

Not that this was planned. A forearm injury shut him down for roughly two months of the season and required a long rehab process to get back to game shape. Even now he's only stretched out to about four or five innings, with the Pirates not wanting to risk anything happening to that very valuable right arm.

“He's a very good worker," catcher Taylor Davis, who caught him with Class AAA Indianapolis, said on the field in Cincinnati earlier this week. "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."

The forearm injury sent him to the team complex in Bradenton, Fla., where he learned more about his body and how to throw. He's point in the right direction.

"Overall, [it] looks like he’s moving a little bit better," Derek Shelton said after the game. "I think there are still some mechanical things that we need to continue to iron out. But overall, it looked like he’s starting to execute pitches better."

But the overall results were middling. In those 3 2/3 innings, he had two fastballs driven out of the park. The first was by his mound opponent, Kyle Gibson, and the second was to Brad Miller:

That was a fastball that Michael Pérez called for outside but cut back over the heart of the plate. It's an example of why fastball command is going to be the main priority in his development in his major league cameo through the end of the year.

He wound up allowing three runs on five hits and two walks, striking out a pair Friday.

"I was a little bit wild today," Yajure said. "I wasn't commanding [my pitches] really good today like I'm used to, and I think that's something that I need to work on."

A feel pitcher with plus breaking balls, Yajure normally has that command too with his secondary pitches. But on Friday, his fastball wasn't as sharp or as fast in his first start back. That homer to Miller was clocked at 90 mph, and Gibson's was at 88.6 mph.

He usually sits in the low-90s, and with less wiggle room than fireballers, Shelton says it's important that he is able to maintain that velocity.

"When you’re coming off missing time like he has, at some point that’s something we feel will come back in time," Shelton said.

Those homers were blemishes on his first night back, but it shouldn't drown out pitches like this:

That curveball and his slider played against a dangerous Phillies lineup. He was able to mix in six pitches. The results weren't there, but the promise was. It's why he is, by FanGraphs' account, the Pirates' No. 5 prospect and No. 70 in the game.

If nothing else, Friday is a learning experience that he can take into the offseason.

"I just want to learn about every outing, keep getting better and everything I need [to do] to get better, keep competing and finish healthy," Yajure said. "That's my goal right now."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Yajure was recalled from Class AAA before the game after Dillon Peters was placed on the injured list with a lower back strain. The injury occurred while running the bases in his last start against the Reds on Monday. This was a reaggravation of an injury earlier this season.

"It flared up again and it has not gotten any better, which is why we had to make the move," Shelton said.

• For the second game in a row, the Phillies got the Pirates' bullpen. After falling behind 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth, Wilmer Difo did put the Pirates out in front again with a seventh inning pinch-hit homer to right.

Didi Gregorious returned the favor in the home half of the inning though. After a two-out infield single by Andrew McCutchen that just stayed fair, the Phillies shortstop pulled a drifting Chasen Shreve slider into the seats in right:

 "It was a slider down and away to a veteran hitter who was probably guessing he was going to get a slider and cheated and got the head out," Shelton said. "He got the head out and got it elevated in this ballpark, and it went out. I don’t think it was a terribly executed pitch."

The Pirates did have a couple more chances to come back late, but Ke'Bryan Hayes bounced out with the bases juiced in the eighth and Kevin Newman flew out to center to end a ninth inning rally.

"We continued to have good at-bats," Shelton said. "We had the bases loaded in the eighth. We had the winning right at the plate in the ninth. We came back and tied it and took the lead. I thought our guys grinded through at-bats the whole night and did a good job. We just came up short."

• Howard struck out the side in the first inning as the opener. 

• So what can the Pirates learn from back-to-back nights where the bullpen fell through late and they lost?

“Out of this series, I think the most vital thing to take away from this series – and even going a little further into this season – is the mindset of competing," Difo said through translator Mike Gonzalez. "It’s important for these young guys to understand that no matter the results you’ve got to go out there with the mindset and the heart willing to compete, the energy and the mindset just to go out there and compete. Give everything you have. No matter the results, go out there and play passionately and play with the desire to just compete. Be aggressive and always have the mindset of competing.”

• The Pirates are now 57-96. They need to go 6-3 down the stretch to avoid a 100-loss season.

• The Class Low-A affiliate Bradenton Marauders have won the Low-A Southeast crown, beating the Yankees' affiliate, the Tarpons, in three games. Congratulations all around to the team and their coaches.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Yoshi Tsutsugo, RF
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Ben Gamel, LF
6. Kevin Newman, 2B
7. Michael Perez, C
8. Hoy Park, SS
9. Sam Howard, LHP

And for Joe Girardi's Reds:

1. Odúbel Herrera, CF
2. Jean Segura, 2B
3. Bryce Harper, RF
4. J.T. Realmuto, C
5. Brad Miller, 1B
6. Andrew McCutchen, LF
7. Didi Gregorious, SS
8. Freddy Galvis, 3B
9. Kyle Gibson, RHP

THE SYSTEM

• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton

THE SCHEDULE

Wil Crowe (4-7, 5.77) will try to get the Pirates back into the win column against Ranger Suárez (6-5, 1.60) Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

THE CONTENT

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