As he tries to compete for the fifth spot in the Yankees’ rotation, Clarke Schmidt has a new weapon in his back pocket.
Schmidt spent the offseason adding a cutter to his arsenal, which he hopes can help him be more effective against left-handed hitters, regardless of what role he ends up in.
Because of the natural cut that Schmidt already had on his four-seam fastball, and its high spin rate, the Yankees thought learning a cutter might come easily for him. The right-hander then began trying it out in bullpens and the metrics came back strong on it. He sent videos of those workouts back to the Yankees and Gerrit Cole, who has served as a mentor for Schmidt and started throwing his own cutter last season. They were likewise encouraged.“His is really good, like right out of the chute,” Cole said. “He just sent me some stuff and I told him he was nasty, really. Because it was nasty.
Manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that the cutter could be a “difference maker” for Schmidt, who leaned heavily on his slider during two rough postseason outings in relief last October.Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesCharles Wenzelberg / New York Post
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