June 24th, 2025: Schmidt, Warren, Chisholm, Yarbrough, Winans

On this date in 1962, the Yankees played the longest game in franchise history, a 9-7 win over the Tigers in 22 innings. Here’s the box score. The starters, Bullet Bob Turley and Frank Lary, combined to get seven outs. The two bullpens soaked up 41.2 innings. Time of game: 7:00. That is a lot of baseball. Let’s get to today’s post. It’s shorter than usual because I decided to break yesterday’s “should Jasson Domínguez go to Triple-A?” thing out into a poll rather than include it here.

1. Weekend thoughts. The Yankees actually won a series against an AL East team! The last place AL East team, but still an AL East team. And then they scored one run Monday in the league’s most homer happy ballpark on a scorching hot night. It’s been almost three weeks since the offense put together back-to-back really good games. Well, at least the slumping bats (Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, etc.) are beginning to wake up. I guess that's something. Here are a few thoughts on the last few days.

Schmidt flirts with history

I would have let Clarke Schmidt start the eighth inning Saturday. He’d thrown a career high 103 pitches, but there were zero stress pitches after the first inning, and there is an off-day before Schmidt’s next start. The Yankees could have given him several days of extra rest. Give him a chance to have a quick eighth inning against the 7-8-9 hitters, then see where things go after that. I would have done it with a 9-0 lead.

At the same time, I completely understand why Aaron Boone took Schmidt out, and I don’t blame him one bit. The rotation depth chart is single-ply thin and the Yankees need Schmidt all year, not just on June 21st. Schmidt has a history of elbow injuries, he missed four months with a lat strain last season, and he missed the start of this season with a shoulder issue. You’ve got to take care of him and his future, and do what’s best for the team long-term, not just today. I totally get it.

“I want to go as deep as I can, but when you’re at the 103 mark and you’ve got two innings to go, you’ve got to think bigger picture here,” Schmidt, who admitted he felt fatigued in the seventh, told Bryan Hoch. “It’s a tough conversation to have, and you get frustrated, but is it worth throwing 130 pitches?”

JT Brubaker, who does exist, replaced Schmidt to mop up the blowout and immediately gave up a hit to old pal Gary Sánchez. I gotta be honest, combined no-hitters do nothing for me. They’re cool, I guess, but the no-hitter definitely loses a little luster once you start using multiple pitchers and matching guys up. The single-pitcher no-hitter rules. The multi-pitcher no-hitter is whatever. I wasn’t upset about Gary’s hit.

Saturday’s performance was excellent (video) and Schmidt has really been on a tear lately. That’s three straight scoreless starts for him and he’s gone at least six innings in each one. He’s working on the third longest scoreless streak in baseball this season:

1. Hunter Brown: 28 innings (April 3-27)
2. Zack Wheeler: 25.2 innings (May 6-29)
3. Clarke Schmidt: 25.1 innings and counting (since June 4th)

Schmidt has gone at least six innings in seven of his 12 starts this year. In 2023, his first full season as a starter, he went six innings only five times in 32 starts. Schmidt not being able to get over the hump the third time through the order was definitely a thing in 2023. Now he’s doing it on the regular. 120 pitchers have thrown at least 150 innings since the start of last season. Here are Schmidt’s ranks:

• ERA: 2.85 (8th)

• FIP: 3.53 (31st)

• K%: 25.1% (28th)

• fWAR: +3.2 (52nd)

• bWAR: +3.8 (37th)

On a rate basis, Schmidt’s been a top 30-ish starter the last two years. I don’t think we can call him a top 30 starter because there is an availability component to it that Schmidt doesn’t meet, but, when he’s been on the mound, he’s been really good the last two seasons. He’ll still drive you crazy with the 0-2 counts that turn into long at-bats, and he hasn’t completely solved lefties yet, but man has Schmidt been good.

Also good: Will Warren. The first inning was awfully wobbly Sunday (shoutout to Jackson Holliday for getting picked off second) but Warren pitched into the seventh and those two first inning runs were the only runs he allowed. Earlier this year, that messy first inning would have blown up on Warren. Now he’s able to settle down, regroup, and pitch well the rest of the day. A pitcher is maturing before our eyes.

“His growth has been awesome to see,” Boone said after Warren’s start (video).

There is a huge disconnect between Warren’s ERA (4.66) and his underlying numbers (2.87 FIP and 3.58 xERA). Blame that on his performance with men on base. Warren has held hitters to a .190/.250/.302 (.246 wOBA) line with the bases empty and .318/.408/.495 (.390 wOBA) with men on. The strikeout and walk numbers follow: 31.1 K% and 6.6 BB% with the bases empty and 26.7 K% and 13.7 BB% with ducks on the pond.

Warren is gradually getting better with runners on base. He’s starting to clear that hurdle, and in his last nine starts, he’s allowed two runs or fewer six times. Like Schmidt two years ago, Warren can be very frustrating, but you can see the talent too. He’s got a 29.4 K%, eighth best among starters, and he’s getting better as the season progresses. Schmidt is a mainstay. Warren’s not there yet, but he is on the path. Fantastic weekend for the Yankees’ two homegrown starters.

Shoeless Jazz

Jazz Chisholm Jr. at what he calls 70% intensity is a hell of a player. He scored the first run in Sunday’s win after the throw brought Orioles catcher Maverick Handley into Chisholm’s path, and the two collided. Jazz lost one cleat rounding third and the other in the collision. This exchange followed in the clubhouse after the game, per Max Goodman:

CHISHOLM: "Is that how Shoeless Joe got his name? He ran out of his shoes?" 

REPORTER: “Shoeless Joe Jackson played in the 1910s.”

CHISHOLM: "Oh, so he wasn't wearing shoes."

Later in the game, Chisholm hacked away in the 3-0 count and smacked the go-ahead two-run double. He then scored an insurance run on DJ LeMahieu’s chopper to third. Here are all the highlights. Since coming off the injured list, Chisholm is hitting .319/.396/.507 (177 wRC+) with 25.0 K%. Before the injury, he hit .181/.304/.410 (102 wRC+) with 31.2 K%. 

“Jazz is a spark, all the way around,” Warren told Hoch. “Today we were calling him Barry Sanders with the collisions at the plate. He’s so toolsy. He’s got the speed, he can hit, he can field. He can do it all.”

LeMahieu’s .245/.321/.337 (89 wRC+) line qualifies as “better than expected.” The infield is in the best shape it’s been since Oswaldo Cabrera got hurt. There is still room for improvement, and I would love to get Chisholm back at second for defensive reasons, but what the Yankees have now is okay. Sunday was the Shoeless Jazz Game. He’s been great since returning.

Yarbrough injured, Winans debuts

Why do the Yankees need to protect Schmidt and remove him from Saturday’s no-hit bid? Because Ryan Yarbrough is injured. He has a right oblique strain. Boone said it’s been bothering him for two starts now. An MRI revealed a low-grade strain. A month, maybe? I dunno. Yarbrough has a 3.83 ERA (4.59 FIP) in eight starts and his numbers are that "bad" only because of his eight-run start against the Red Sox three weekends ago.

“Something that’s been kinda coming on a little bit in his second-to-last start and then a little more sore towards the end of his last start,” Boone told Ron Blum. “After his last start was pretty sore the next day and then before he was getting ready to throw his side the other day felt like couldn’t quite do it.”

The Yankees caught a break with the timing because changeup specialist Allan Winans, who’s been so good in Triple-A (0.90 ERA and 2.41 FIP) and may or may not have tweaked his arsenal, lined up perfectly to step into Yarbrough’s rotation spot. He made his Yankees’ debut Monday in Cincinnati and was great the first time through the order, then six of the final 10 batters he faced reached base. Eighth starters be like that.

It sounds like it will be one-and-done for Winans. Marcus Stroman will throw 70 or so pitches in his third rehab start later today. If that goes well, he will “be in the mix” to be activated, Boone told Hoch. With the off-day Thursday, the Yankees can easily slot Stroman into Yarbrough’s vacated rotation spot. The series of roster moves could be something like this:

• Tuesday: Send Winans down, call up an extra reliever (Clayton Beeter?)

• Sunday: Extra reliever goes down, Stroman activated to make start

Thursday’s off-day gives the Yankees flexibility. They could push the Yarbrough/Winans spot’s next start all the way back to Tuesday if they want, but Sunday is the day it currently lines up to pitch, so that’s what I listed. The Yankees could do that, and if they decide Stroman needs another rehab start, they could give Brubaker a spot start. He got stretched out to 70 pitches on his rehab assignment.

How exactly the Yankees play it, we’ll see. Yarbrough’s injured though, and it’ll be a few weeks given the nature of even minor oblique strains. Stroman’s on the mend and, once again, a rotation spot has opened up for him when it appeared he’d have to settle for a bullpen role. I didn’t think it would get to the point where I would say losing Yarbrough is a blow, but it is. He’s been so reliable.

Miscellany

I’m not gonna dwell on it but man, Aaron Judge not scoring on Bellinger’s would-be sac fly in the sixth inning Sunday was so bad (video). He was a third of the way down the line, then had to retreat to tag up once Dylan Carlson made the sliding catch. This is Baserunning 101. Second and third, no outs, you stay on the bag. If the outfielder catches it and is in good position to make a throw, you hold up. If he’s not, you score. If it falls in, either you score or the bases are loaded with no outs. John Sterling said the Yankees run the bases like drunks last October and that was too kind. They’re just stupid … Anthony Volpe is in a 3-for-33 (.091) slump and a) all three hits came Saturday, and b) he’s let the bat slip out of his hands at least three times during this stretch. The same number of hits as lost bats is never good … Luke Weaver was thrown right into fire after being activated Friday. He came in to face the 4-5-6 hitters in the eighth inning of a 3-3 game Friday. His stuff was fine. He just didn’t locate. Pitcher misses 2.5 weeks, doesn’t go on a rehab assignment, and looks rusty. News at 11. The home run Ramon Urías hit wasn’t even a bad pitch. It was 96.4 mph on the outer black in a 3-2 count …

… and Urías just beat him to the spot and porched it. As Nestor Cortes knows, the Yankees are happy to put a pitcher in a high leverage situation immediately after an injury. Giving a guy a soft landing in his first game back just isn’t a thing they do … More on Weaver: He warmed up in (I think?) the eighth inning Sunday, when the Yankees were down a run, but Devin Williams got the save chance. Williams has been really good the last few weeks and the Yankees acquired him to close. I’m cool with keeping him in the ninth inning and using Weaver as a fireman (did you know Williams has 21 strikeouts and one walk in his last 15.2 innings?) … It’s been an almost even split at first base the last nine games. Four starts for Rice and five starts for Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt did not start Saturday or Sunday. Boone acknowledged this is part of the first base/DH rotation, and sometimes Goldschmidt will sit back-to-back games. I’m pleasantly surprised they’re going through with it. Limiting Goldschmidt’s exposure to righties is a smart move, plus he’s 37. A little extra rest won’t hurt. Also, shoutout to Goldy for scoring from first on Chisholm’s go-ahead double Sunday. He’s accepted his role (i.e. playing less) and is still ready to go off the bench to pinch-run. Just a total pro … That was a well-earned win for Fernando Cruz on Sunday. He came in with the scored tied and runners on first and second with no outs, then struck out the next three. Here is the MLB strikeout rate leaderboard (min. 30 IP):

1. Fernando Cruz: 40.7%
2. Josh Hader: 40.5%
3. Griffin Jax: 39.1%
4. Randy Rodriguez: 38.9%
5. Logan Gilbert: 38.0%

Lots of relievers pick up cheap wins during the season. Come in, get one guy out, then the offense gets you a win the next inning. That kinda thing. Cruz deserved that W. Williams got the save but Cruz actually saved the game … Me on Friday: J.C. Escarra should be sent down, the Yankees can better use his roster spot. Escarra on Saturday: You idiot, you absolute moron. He went 2-for-3 with a dinger and a walk, and guided Schmidt through seven no-hit innings. The man sure does have a sweet Yankee Stadium swing:

We also got the ultra-rare straight up defensive swap Saturday. Escarra started at catcher and Rice at first base, then they traded places in the ninth. You don’t see a straight swap that often with any two positions, let alone with a catcher … And finally, lefty Jayvien Sandridge got called up for one day but did not pitch for the second time in a week Sunday. He bridged the gap between Yerry De Los Santos going on the injured list and Weaver being activated Thursday, then did the same between Yarbrough and Winans on Sunday. I hope Sandridge gets into a game at some point just to check that box, and not go down as a phantom big leaguer. Would’ve been much easier to make sure it happens with the old September call up rules. Alas.

Injury updates

Luis Gil (lat) threw about 20 pitches in live BP on Saturday. He faced bullpen catcher Peter Serruto and information coordinator Ryan McLaughlin. “I think they were a little overmatched,” Boone told Hoch. Usually bench guys step in for live BP, but the Yankees had several of them in the lineup Saturday, and didn’t want to risk anything. Anyway, it was Gil’s first time facing hitters and he said he felt good. He’ll do it again in a few days. Figure a few more live BPs before Gil starts a rehab assignment.

Up next

The final two games of the three-game Cincinnati trip. The last time the Yankees visited Great American Ball Park, Weaver started a game and allowed four runs in 4.1 innings, and gave up a homer to Isiah Kiner-Falefa (video). That feels like a lifetime ago. Here’s what’s coming up this week:

• Tuesday at Reds: LHP Carlos Rodón vs. RHP Chase Burns (7pm ET on YES)

• Wednesday at Reds: LHP Max Fried vs. RHP Brady Singer (7pm ET on Amazon, MLBN)

• Thursday: off-day

Only two games remain in the 16 games in 16 days stretch. That went quick. Usually these two-week stretches without an off-day feel interminable, at least to me. 

Anyway, the Reds are calling up Burns for his MLB debut today. He was the No. 2 pick in last summer’s draft and is arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball. Burns had a 1.77 ERA (2.13 FIP) with 36.8 K% and 5.4 BB% in 66 minor league innings this year. Fastball touches 100 mph and his slider had an exactly 50% whiff rate in the minors. Standard best pitching prospect in baseball stuff, basically.

2. 2025 draft prospect: Michigan State LHP Joseph Dzierwa. The 2025 MLB Draft will take place during the All-Star break and the Yankees hold the No. 39 pick. Here are the draft prospects I’ve already profiled. Some are players the Yankees are reported to have interest in, some are players who fit the team’s M.O., and some are players I like for whatever reason. We’re covering a little of everything.

On the young side for a college player (turned 21 in April), Dzierwa has been Michigan State’s ace since the day he set foot on campus. He pitched to a 2.36 ERA with 28.0 K% and 5.9 BB% in 91.2 innings this spring even though the Big Ten averages were a 5.62 ERA and a .281/.390/.460 slash line. That earned him Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors. Here’s where Dzierwa sits in the latest draft prospect rankings:

• Baseball America (subs. req’d): No. 49

• ESPN (subs. req’d): No. 74

• FanGraphs: Unranked

• MLB Pipeline: No. 74

• Keith Law (subs. req’d): No. 93

Dzierwa did not allow an earned run in three Cape Cod League starts last summer, and when he entered the transfer portal a few weeks later, every top program pursued him. He committed then decommitted to Vanderbilt, and ultimately remained with the Spartans. Here’s video and here’s part of MLB Pipeline’s free scouting report:

Added strength helped Dzierwa gain 2 mph with his fastball, which now sits at 90-93 mph and maxes out at 95, missing a lot of bats because of his command and the wide angle he creates with his 6-foot-8 frame and low three-quarters arm slot. His ability to sell his low-80s changeup with depth and locate it also helps his heater play better than its velocity. His mechanics don't make it easy to stay on top of a spin option, however, and his upper-70s slider and mid-80s cutter are nothing more than get-me-over pitches.

Dzierwa's size and arm angle help him hide the ball well and create deception without compromising his ability to throw strikes … he can pinpoint his entire arsenal wherever he wants, pounding the strike zone and also working the edges well. He offers a high floor as a near-certain starter and could fit in the middle of a rotation if he can find a reliable breaking pitch.

Dzierwa is huge (6-foot-8 and 200 lbs.) and pitches exclusively from the stretch to keep his mechanics in check. It’s really easy to dream on the guy. Get him under a pro instruction and his velocity could tick up, and teams are better than ever at developing breaking balls. Dzierwa’s pretty good as is and there is clear upside for more. Vanderbilt and the Yankees tend to chase the same prospects. The fact Vandy was all over Dzierwa last summer suggests there are traits the Yankees like here.

3. Rapid fire thoughts. According to Bob Nightengale, the Yankees are among the teams “keeping a close eye” on Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The Yankees might bring back IKF to address what has morphed into a multi-year opening on the infield?

IKF is a rental and he’s having a typical IKF season: .275/.319/.342 (84 wRC+) going into Monday while being miscast as an everyday shortstop. He’s been better against righties than lefties (104 wRC+ vs. 47 wRC+) for the second straight year. The Yankees need a righty hitting third baseman and Kiner-Falefa would qualify, but eh, I’m hoping for someone better. IKF as an Oswald Peraza replacement? That I can get behind. As a platoon or everyday guy? I think I’ve seen enough of that … And finally, the second All-Star Game voting update was released Monday. Aaron Judge still leads all players in votes and Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and Ben Rice remain in position to advance to Phase 2 of the voting. Brent Rooker is gaining on Rice and could push him out of the top two at DH, and out of Phase 2. Here’s the ballot if you care to vote. Phase 1 ends Thursday.

(Send your requests for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for when it returns.)