Rookie staring pitcher Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees stepped into the team’s starting rotation after Jordan Montgomery went down with a flexor-tendon strain in his left elbow that eventually needed Tommy John surgery. The 25 year-old rail-thin righty has done a serviceable job over his six starts in the last month.
Germán has an arsenal of four pitches he uses to keep opponents off balance, a live fastball that sits 95-96 and can touch 97 or 98, a fastball he can put sink on to induce grounders. Germán has a good change-up at 88-91 mph and an excellent late-breaking curve ball that he can make hitters simply look foolish with (82-84 mph). His stuff reminds of a young Pedro Martinez circa 1992 when he was pitching alongside his brother Ramón with the Dodgers (although Germán physically resembles Ramón, who is taller).
Granted, we are only looking at a small sample size, but this young righty seems to have a lot of poise on the mound and works well with catcher Gary Sanchez. One of the biggest problems Germán seems to have is allowing early runs. He has let in 12 total runs in the first and second innings in his six starts (12 innings), and also had a couple big innings in the 4th inning in a couple of other starts. I guess what I’m saying here is Germán seems to make needed adjustments and gets better as the game goes on. That’s pretty remarkable for someone with his limited MLB experience. He’s kept his team in the game and given length despite the early hiccups.
While his overall stats don’t look very good (0-4, 5.32 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), they are somewhat deceiving. The Yankees are 3-3 in his starts, with each of the victories coming as a result of late inning rallies.
With Masahiro Tanaka now on the DL with two strained hamstrings, and the aforementioned Montgomery on the shelf long-term, Germán will stay in the rotation. He seems to be making continued improvements, makes in-game adjustments and seems better at limiting big-innings. I still believe Brian Cashman will get the Yankees a starter via trade, but Domingo Germán can hold down the fort in the meantime.
The Titanium Spine 