Miguel Yajure Working Back, Hoping For Major League Return
While he may not have been the biggest contributor during his time with the Pirates, Jameson Taillon was one of the most liked players on the team. Heading into 2021, he was working his way back from Tommy John surgery and was hoping to make good on the first-round selection that brought him to Pittsburgh in the first place. However, General Manager Ben Cherington pulled off one of the most shocking trades of his Pirates tenure, sending the right-hander to New York for a package of four prospects, including Roansy Contreras, Canaan Smith, and Maikol Escotto. While he wasn't the biggest piece in the trade package, one guy who has already made an impact on the Big League club is right-handed pitcher Miguel Yajure.
Yajure had made two starts for the Pirates earlier in the season and pitched well going 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA over his first 9.1 innings of work. However, we haven't seen him in the Big Leagues since May 14th due to a stint on the Injured List. He went on the 7-day Injured List on June 2nd and was transferred to the 60-day Injured List just 22 days later. He was forced to miss all of June and all of July, only throwing in live BP and side sessions during that time. He just completed his first rehab start in Low-A Bradenton about a week ago, but it isn't clear when his next rehab appearance will be. Today, we look back at Yajure's return to the mound and whether or not we see him in a Pirates uniform this season.
Working His Way Back
When Yajure was at the Major League level earlier this season, he turned in two good-looking starts. The first came on April 21st, but he got hit around more than you would like to see. He allowed four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work while walking two and striking out four. Yajure allowed just one run over the first five innings of the game, before getting tagged for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was his second career start, and he showed the Pirates that he could attack the strike zone. In his second start, Yajure was even stronger, allowing one earned run over five innings of work. He attacked the strike zone in both outings and was looking like a strong contender for a future spot in the starting rotation.
He went down to Triple-A and made two starts, with one being great, and the other not so much. In his last start on May 26th, Yajure was tagged for five runs over five innings, and something didn't look right. He was placed on the Minor League seven-day IL with a sore forearm seven days later. However, the injury ended up being more severe than the team thought, and they were forced to move him to the 60-day IL. He would be forced to stick to side sessions and love BP as a way to continue to get his work on day-in-and-day out. Because he was on the IL, the Major League team started feeling the repercussions of this by eliminating a strong starting pitcher depth piece.
After waiting the nearly two months, Yajure is back and has begun a rehab assignment with the Low-A Bradenton Marauders. He made that first start on August 6th at LECOM Park against the Clearwater Threshers. It wasn't a very long start, lasting just 1.2 innings, but he did some good work, allowing just one unearned run on the night. He wasn't as efficient as he would have liked to be, with 31 pitches in those 1.2 innings pitched. The good news was the pitches he did throw were for strikes, as he had a 77.4% strike rate. He did not walk a batter and struck out one on the day. His only trouble came when he allowed his one unearned run in the second as he scattered the two hits on the day. It was a step forward for Yajure, as he works his way back to the Big League rotation.
Starter Spot on the Line
Over the final two months of the season, we are going to see some competitive baseball at PNC Park. Unfortunately, that competition will be between the different positions on the field for the Pirates, and one of those positions is the starting rotation. The 2022 rotation is starting to look like it will be Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault, Bryse Wilson, and JT Brubaker with the fifth spot up for grabs. It is going to be a toss-up between all these young pitchers for that final spot in the starting rotation. Guys like Wil Crowe, Cody Ponce, Max Kranick, and Yajure are all trying to earn that final start and buy themselves a spot on the 2022 Opening Day roster.
Yajure hasn't had much time in the Big Leagues to prove himself, but his Minor League stats are trending towards him being a quality Big League arm. Yajure has a career 2.52 ERA in the Minor Leagues and has looked solid aside from one inning in his Big League appearances. Yajure just has to show that he is able to work a normal starter's workload, and he should get another shot at the Big Leagues. He has a good arsenal that includes a low-90s fastball, as well as a slider and a curveball for him to work off of. He is the Pirate's #12 ranked prospect in the system, and at just 23 years old is pitching well beyond his years.
I expect Yajure will make at least three more Big League starts before he is cleared to return to action. However, when he is back, I feel that it will be in Pittsburgh when the rosters expand. He should get two, maybe three more Big League starts before the year is out, and that will go a long way to determining his future in Pittsburgh. He will be coming into camp next season as one of the front runners for the number five spot in the rotation, as he has his eyes on his first Opening Day roster. Look for Yajure to be one of the fixtures of the future of this Pirates team as they try to build a solid staff that can help this team into the future.
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