NYH
Luis Medina, P
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Scouting report
Remember that when we last saw Medina for an extended stretch, his ability to throw strikes seemed to be improving very quickly. In his first nine starts of 2019, he tossed 35 innings, walked 41 batters, and threw 53% of his pitches for strikes. His next five starts included 23 innings, 14 walks, and 57% strikes. His final eight starts were incredible: 45 innings, 63 strikeouts, and just 15 walks. 60% of those pitches were strikes. Mixed into the back half of his season were still some clunky four and five walk outings. Then Medina spent 2020 at the alternate site before the Yankees turned him loose on the Clemente League in Puerto Rico during the winter. He won the league's Pitcher of the Year award, striking out 32 hitters in 16 innings while walking just six. Medina's stuff is fantastic and has been for a while. He was up to 96 mph as a 15-year-old amateur, eventually going unsigned on July 2 due in part to his horrendous command. Then he hit 100 mph as an amateur with improved feel, which is when the Yankee scooped him up for $300,000. He still sits 94-98, has hit 101 mph (he was supposedly up to 103 in 2020 but I can't confirm it), has a dominant power curveball that projects as a plus-plus pitch, and his sinking changeup moves enough to miss bats when it's located competitively. He loses mechanical consistency late in outings, but remember that Medina is still just 21, he's super loose and athletic, and held premium stuff throughout a huge inning increase in 2019. There's enough relief risk here that I'd go so far as to say the bullpen is the likely outcome, but Medina is going to have three impact pitches, so his outcome there might be elite. (Alternate site, LigaPR)