Can a healthy Clarke Schmidt help this season? Here’s what Yankees say

SEATTLE — MLB Pipeline recently updated its Yankees’ top 30 prospects ranking by flip-flopping their two highest rated pitchers. Clarke Schmidt, injured early into spring training and still rehabbing his way back, now is sitting in the No. 2 spot behind outfielder Jasson Dominguez by virtue of bypassing slump-ridden Triple-A starter Deivi Garcia, who dropped from second to third.

Whether Schmidt has a bigger jump in the cards this season — a return to the big leagues — is to be determined.

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The Yankees have moved at a crawl’s pace progressing Schmidt, who has been on the injured list all season with a right elbow strain. The righty didn’t resume throwing until late April and wasn’t back on a mound until June, but he’s now facing hitters and waiting clearance to start throwing in games.

When?

“I don’t know when he scheduled to be in a real game,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Tuesday night’s 12-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

That’s not encouraging because with Garcia having a terrible season and Michael King continuing to excel as a long reliever while struggling as a starter, two fill-in rotation options now may be off the table for the rest of the season.

The Yankees still are expecting Luis Severino back from Tommy John surgery sometime in August and they’re hoping Corey Kluber returns at some point, too,.

Meanwhile, lefty Nestor Cortes probably will get a shot to be the No. 5 starter for the time being over King after providing 3 1/3 quality innings in a 59-pitch spot start in last Sunday’s second game.

As for Schmidt, the Yankees don’t know if he’ll be able to able to pitch his way into becoming a rotation option this season even if he returns to game action soon in the minors.

“We’ll see,” Boone said. “I think the biggest thing with the guy like Clarke, a guy that we think highly of and that has a bright future, is going through the rehab process and then getting into a season and getting experience because that’s one of the things he lacks. He’s dealt with some injury things for a young pitcher, so it’s important that he gets into the season and logs some innings.

Schmidt, 24, definitely lacks experience, as he has worked just 120 1/3 professional innings since being drafted 16th overall out of the University of South Carolina in 2017 while he was early into recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched just 6 1/3 innings over the last two years, those coming in 2020 when he debuted in the majors with three appearances.

Schmidt pitched his way to Double-A by the end of 2019, a season in which he worked 90 2/3 innings, but he spent most of last season at the Yankees’ alternate camp due to COVID killing the 2020 minor-league season.

But despite Schmidt not yet pitching this season and seeing little game action last year, a late-season return to the majors isn’t out of the question.

“He certainly has the talent to push himself into the conversation as the season unfolds,” Boone said.

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