Eddy Yean Takes Home Low-A Southeast Pitcher of the Week Honors
When the Pittsburgh Pirates traded first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals on Christmas Eve 2020, they received two pitchers back in the deal. The first pitcher is one the Pirates have already seen in the Big Leagues in Wil Crowe, but the other pitcher is down in Low-A Ball with the Bradenton Marauders. Eddy Yean is currently ranked as the Pirates #12 overall prospect and has helped a talented Marauders starting rotation that has helped lead the team to an organizational best 32-16. However, 2021 hasn't always been the easiest go of things for Yean, as he currently sits at 3-1 with a 5.72 ERA in nine starts for the Marauders this season. He had an absolutely horrendous outing in his first start of the year, giving up five earned runs in six innings, and hasn't been able to fully recover since.
However, this past week, he put together a string of back-to-back strong outings and is being recognized for it. He has been named the Low-A Southeast League pitcher of the week as he led the Marauders to two big wins during their streak of nine wins over their last 11 games. He has thrown nine innings without giving up an earned run over his last two starts and has struck out 14 batters over a span of 9.0 innings of work while walking just two batters. After a rough showing from the middle of May to the beginning of June, these last two starts will hopefully get Yean trending back in the right direction. Today, we look at Yean's past two starts that earned him recognition on the National Stage.
Yean Finding His Groove
Looking at the beginning of Eddy Yean's season, one of the big problems for the right-hander has been his control. He was walking nearly two batters per game over his first seven starts of the year, and because of his control issues, he was getting hit hard when he did throw it in the strike zone. He didn't have that true out pitch until his start on June 10th. He gave up three earned runs over 3.2 innings of work that day, but the positive was that he struck out seven batters. He has a nasty slider in his arsenal, and he was finally getting the swing and misses that he had been looking for all season. With his slider working for him instead of against him, he then took that momentum into his last two starts leading to his success.
The string of outings began on June 18th in the second game of a doubleheader against the Tampa Tarpons. Yean entered the game in the game in the game in the sixth inning and was looking to be efficient on the mound. He allows a hit to the first batter he faced but then was able to roll a double play to clear the bases. After a walk and a single, Yean would come back to strike out the next batter on three pitches to end the inning. After that, Yean really settled down and retired five of the next six batters he faced to end the outing. He retired the side 1-2-3 in the fifth with two of his three strikeouts and allowed a walk as his only base runner in the sixth before picking him off to end the inning.
As he continued to work as a long-man out of the Marauders bullpen, his next relief appearance went way longer than he expected. He came into the game in the top of the fifth with his team trailing 2-0, and ended up having to work 6.0 innings before the Marauders walked it off in the 10th inning against the Jupiter Hammerheads. It was a good thing though because Yean shined allowing two unearned runs on his way to the victory. Both runs allowed by Yean were the extra-inning courtesy runners as he not only pitched well but continued to give his team a chance to win the game. He had two 1-2-3 innings in the game and was able to set down a season-high nine batters on strikes in the game. He also did not walk a batter in the game and had just two three-ball counts over six innings. It was an impressive feat out of the bullpen, and something that hopefully jump starts him back to success.
Yean's Role Down the Road
Even though he has been coming in relief these last couple of games, I think the Pirates ultimately see Yean as a starter long-term. He began the year in the rotation, but after some struggles, he has moved to the bullpen. Now that he is trending in the right direction, the Pirates will look to move him back to the rotation. The problem is, there are so many people performing well for Bradenton that it is creating some tense competition for starts. Logan Hoffman is the one who pushed Yean out of the rotation, and he is currently pitching to a 1.86 ERA, but allowed three runs in three innings in his last start. Yean has good stuff, the question with him is whether or not he can locate it effectively.
Yean's power pitch is his fastball, which currently sits in the mid to upper 90s and projects to have even more zip than that. When he was signed, he was just a 6'1, 180-pound pitcher who could barely hit 90 miles per hour. However, he used his time over quarantine to bulk up to 215 and has been able to use his entire body to up his velocity. However, while that velocity has gone up, he doesn't really have that solid secondary pitch to back it up. His gi, -to when he is changing speeds is his slider, which has good movement but he has little control over the pitch. It has the possibility to be an above-average pitch according to scouts, but he has to be able to put it in the zone consistently.
With the award, Yean is now the third different Pirates Minor Leaguer, and second Marauders pitcher to win the pitcher of the week award. Teammate JC Flowers earned the honors during the first full week of the Minor League season, and he has since earned a promotion to Advanced-A Ball. If Yean wants the same fate, he has to work on hitting the strike zone on a more consistent basis. He is currently walking batters at an 11.9% rate, and that is definitely not going to cut it as he climbs the ladder. While having the greater velocity is nice, he has to be able to control it. Look for Yean to spend most of this season in Low-A especially if he can't get those control numbers down. The Pirates are hoping that Yean can be a big part of their future, but he will have to prove he has command of his pitches to reach those expectations.
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