Miguel Yajure

A forearm injury limited Yajure to 62.2 innings across the majors and the minors last season, and a back injury cost him a scheduled trip to the Arizona Fall League. He started the season with a rough start in the majors followed by three excellent starts split between the majors and Triple-A but then struggled in his May 26 start and was placed on the injured list after that blowup outing. The 23-year-old righty finished his Triple-A season strong, logging a 2.70 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 23:8 K:BB in 26.2 innings over six appearances, but then he struggled in two big-league starts to close the campaign. It's more encouraging that he experienced highs and lows, rather than a consistent string of mediocrity, and Pittsburgh is the perfect situation for a pitcher like Yajure to be given a runway to sink or swim against big-league hitters. He threw five pitches 13% of the time or more last season, with three of those offerings averaging 87-mph or more, although all of his pitches are thrown slower than league average except for his upper-80s changeup. Yajure's offspeed offerings all have encouraging characteristics, but the question is whether he can avoid giving up too much hard contact with his 91-mph fastball. His control has been excellent in the minors and that skill will need to start carrying over against big-league hitters soon in order for him to project as a long-term rotation piece. He should compete for a spot in the rotation during spring training.