There is no doubt that the Yankees need some starting pitching depth, but could a signing of Jake Odorizzi make sense in the Bronx?
This year’s free-agent class is filled with some great starting pitchers, which is perfect for the Yankees. While it would be absolutely amazing for the Yankees to get Cole or Strasburg, there is also another option that is not as expensive but would be a great piece for the Yankees. Jake Odorizzi. Here are three reasons why the Yankees should sign Jake Odorizzi.
Before I get into why, here are Jake’s 2019 stats:
15-7 3.51 ERA. 178k’s (159 innings)
Keeps the ball in the park
One of the most important things for a pitcher is to keep the ball in the park, especially with the juiced balls we had this year. It is even more important to keep it in the park as a pitcher for the New York Yankees at home. But Jake was able to do really well this year with keeping the ball in the park by only allowing 16 homers in 159 innings.
That is good for a HR/9 of 0.9. That mark of 16 homers allowed would rank 1st among Yankee starting pitchers this year, Paxton is 2nd with 23. We don’t know if the juiced balls will be in play for next season, but having a guy like Odorizzi would be great.
Good walk rate/strikeout rate
Walks are what comes back to bite you as a pitcher all the time, especially in the playoffs. You don’t want to give out free passes. Jake is very good at not handing out a free pass. This season Jake only walked 53 batters in 159 innings and according to baseball savant, come out to a BB% of 8.1 with the MLB average at 8.3. On top of his good walk rate, Jake had a career year in strikeouts. He struck out 178 batters and had a K/9 of 10.1 which was the highest of his career so far. According to Baseball Savant, he had a K% of 27.1 which is 6% above the league average. Jake is missing bats and not letting them walk.
Durable pitcher
I think every single one of the Yankees starting pitchers spent at least 10 days on the IL this year. The Yankees haven’t had a great durable pitcher since the early years of CC. They still need someone they can count on to go out each year and give the team at least 30 starts. Jake is that person as he averages around 30 starts per year and has started up to 33. The Yankees need someone they can count on in the middle of the rotation to just grind and eat up innings and this is why the Yankees should to go out and sign Jake Odorizzi