Is Huascar Ynoa A Starter or Reliever?
This post is the latest in Off The Bench Baseball’s running series on Huascar Ynoa. Find other takes on Ynoa here and here.
Now that the Atlanta Braves have had a good look at Huascar Ynoa against big league hitting, they must ask themselves an important question. Will he work best as a starter or as a bullpen arm?
There’s no question as to whether he’s good. His hard slider and a high-velocity fastball work as a great pair to throw off hitters, but his ability to stay in the strike-zone and the development of his changeup will determine whether he ends up in the rotation or out of the bullpen.
Ynoa was signed as a non-drafted free agent with Twins in 2014 when he was just a sixteen-year-old boy from the Dominican Republic . In 2017, he was traded to the Braves and worked his way through their minor league system until he debuted on June 15, 2019 against Philadelphia. In his debut, the right-hander pitched two scoreless innings and pulled the string with his slider on Rhys Hoskins to record his first major league strikeout. He did not perform as well in his next outing as he allowed six earned runs in 3.0 innings pitched.
Ynoa currently sits at No. 11 on the rankings of Braves prospects. His exceptional arm strength and his ability to induce groundballs helped put him high on that list. His four-seam fastball averages at 94-95 MPH, but can reach the 97-99 MPH range in short relief outings . His slider also has some bite to it as it averages 87-88 MPH. The above-average vertical drop of his slider characterizes it more as a slurve as it has more downward movement than horizontal. This breaking action and the velocity of his pitches are what cause hitters to hit groundballs about 51.5 % of the time. Batters are only able to hit flyballs off his pitches 10.3% of the time. His repertoire also includes a changeup which can reach 88 MPH and has an average amount of movement. If he wishes to be a starter, he needs to develop his changeup and use it more.
Despite all positives about his pitch arsenal, Ynoa continues to struggle with his control. In the 2020 season, Ynoa has pitched 18.2 innings and walked 12 batters. However, he’s also struck out 16. He holds a very poor 14.0 base-on-balls percentage and a slightly below average 18.6 strikeout percentage. Only 44.0% of his pitches end up in the strike zone although 28.8% of his pitches get chased by batters. These numbers aren’t good for a reliever but are especially bad for a prospective starter. Ynoa must improve his control no matter where he wishes to end up.
He’s made eight appearances in the 2020 abbreviated season, four of which were starts. In those eight appearances, he’s allowed 11 earned runs, which gives him a 5.30 ERA. Ynoa has held opponents to a .257 batting average and a .372 on-base percentage which are both higher than the league average in their respective categories. Although these numbers may not be impressive, Ynoa has held batters to a .429 slugging percentage – the average among major league pitchers.
He’s shown he doesn’t give up a lot of home runs in an era with a historical amount of balls being hit out of the park. Hitters have only been able to drive his pitches over the fence three times in his ten major league appearances. None of those home runs have been off his incredible slider which he throws about 46% of the time, more than either of his other pitches. Ynoa’s slider is the key to his success. The hard, downward action of the pitch keeps hitters off balance and induces many groundballs.
Currently, Ynoa can make the biggest impact in the bullpen in short relief with his powerful pitches and small pitch arsenal. However, with development of both his changeup and a consistent command of his pitches, he could make a solid addition to a club’s future rotation.
-Sam Gilroy
