With the unfortunate elbow injury of Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, the Yankees are left with four definite starters: Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes Jr., and Clarke Schmidt. The question remains: who will be the Yankees 5th starter? As they weigh their options this Spring, four pitchers are in the battle. Will Warren, Luke Weaver, Luis Gil, and Clayton Beeter. Despite the Juan Soto trade in which the Yankees parted with three of their brief 2023 starters (Michael King, Randy Vasquez, and Jhony Brito), the organization has no shortage of pitching depth, so lets get into it.
Will Warren
Background: RHP, 24 y/o, last at AAA level
Being the Yankees second overall pitching prospect behind only Chase Hampton, you would expect Warren to be a factor in the Yankees future rotation, and now is the perfect opportunity for him to show the organization what he’s got. In 2023, Warren pitched to a strong 2.45 ERA in six AA starts — a total of 29.1 innings with 39 strikeouts. As a result of his success, the 24 year old righty was called up to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In the 2023 season, AAA hitters across the International League hit to a .794 OPS and pitchers across the league had a whopping 5.17 (!) ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Warren pitched significantly better than these totals, and in 21 games, he tossed 99.2 innings with 110 strikeouts, along with a 3.61 ERA. When he first arrived to AAA, Warren struggled like much of the leagues pitchers. He pitched slightly better than the league average throughout much of the season, until the calendar flipped to September, when he really took off. In his 5 September starts, Warren pitched 28.2 innings totaling 36 strikeouts, giving up only two earned runs in that span. Due to his superb numbers in September, Warren was announced as the International League pitcher of the month for 9/2023.
The 10.9 BB% is one of few negatives Warren possesses along with his home run issues, although that has not been as big of an issue this Spring, in which Warren has 3 walks issued in 10.1 innings. Despite a rocky outing Sunday against the Red Sox — in which he did bounce back after the first inning, Warren is still expected to make his major league debut some point in the early part of the season; whether that’s out of the bullpen or as the Yankees #5 starter.
Luke Weaver
Background: RHP, 30 y/o, last at MLB level
Acquired off waivers from the Seattle Mariners in September 2023, Luke Weaver made his Yankees debut on September 16th in Pittsburgh. Although he gave up 3 runs in 4 innings, Weaver showed promise as he struck out 7 Pirates hitters that night. He would go on to make two more strong starts for the Yankees that month to wrap up their disappointing 2023 campaign. On January 19, 2024, the Yankees signed Weaver to a one-year, $2M contract with a club option for the 2025 season. You can never have too much pitching depth, and Weaver is one of multiple options for the 5th rotation spot. If not, he is likely to be a long reliever (as well as Warren/Beeter/Gil), or replace another injured starter if the worst comes to worst.
As we see above, veteran pitcher Luke Weaver had a pretty rocky 2023 season. However, he was strong in his short stint with the Yankees and looks to continue that success as we are set to begin the 2024 season. Weaver looks to flip his iffy spring numbers upside down and be a strong ingredient in the Yankees rotation during Cole’s absence.
Luis Gil
Background: RHP, 25 y/o, last at AAA level
Luis Gil, the Yankees 5th overall prospect in 2021, had his 2022 season cut short due to Tommy John Surgery on May 21st, 2022. Gil made a return in 2023 in Low-A Tampa and made two starts. The question is: will Gil be the Yankees 5th starter despite only starting two regular season games since 2023? Gil is certainly making a strong case for the Yankees to consider him having the spot, as he has been one of their top performers this Spring Training. Although we shouldn’t look into ST numbers too much, we must realize that one of the main purposes of ST is for pitchers like the ones mentioned in this article to show their team what they got, and hopefully find a good role on the team. ST is also important for hitters, which is the reason why Yankees rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe made the Opening Day roster last season. So, lets get into the great ST numbers in question.
As we see above, Gil has put up an impressive 18 strikeouts in 11.2 innings this Spring as he is fully recovered from Tommy John Surgery. Gil’s most impressive outing came on March 11th against the Phillies. He struck out 8 batters, including 2x NL MVP Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos, in 3.2 scoreless innings.
It’s safe to say that Gil will be on the major league roster this season, but it remains a question if he will earn the rotation spot. Gil does have experience in the majors, but his last appearance was in 2022 against the Chicago White Sox before he underwent TJS. He also started 6 games in 2021, pitching to just a 3.07 ERA.
Clayton Beeter
Background: RHP, 25 y/o, last at AAA level
Acquired hours before the 2022 trade deadline in a deal with the Dodgers in return for Joey Gallo, Beeter opened the eyes of many Yankees fans as he immediately became a stud in AA. Beeter was the Dodgers 7th overall pitching prospect at the time of the trade. Beeter posted a 2.13 ERA in 7 starts in the Yankees organization in 2022. In 25.1 innings, he showed off his stuff with 41 strikeouts and a 1.07 WHIP. His success in AA didn’t stop there, as in the following season (2023), Beeter did just as good in AA. A 2.08 ERA in 12 starts is more than enough for a promotion to AAA, and the Yankees did just that.
Unfortunately, Beeter was a victim of the offensive explosion in AAA last year. However, he still managed to tally up the strikeouts as he posted an 11.28 K/9 and a 28.1 K%. This Spring, Beeter is making his case to the Yankees on why he should earn the 5th rotation spot, as he has a 3.46 ERA in 13 innings.
Summary
The Yankees have proved to the league that they have multiple MLB-ready young starters — Will Warren, Luis Gil, and Clayton Beeter; as veteran Luke Weaver is also an option. The rotation with Cole injured for at least 2–3 months is as stands:
- Carlos Rodon
- Marcus Stroman
- Nestor Cortes Jr.
- Clarke Schmidt
- Warren/Weaver/Gil/Beeter
The Yanks will see what they got in their young starters and Luke Weaver in the back end of their rotation in their all-in 2024 season.
