Versatile Yarbrough eyes full-time starting gig

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- After mostly serving as the “bulk” pitcher who often followed the “opener” over the last two seasons, Ryan Yarbrough enters this Spring Training with a chance to graduate into a more traditional starter -- and his first outing was a step in the right direction.

Yarbrough started and tossed a scoreless first inning in the Rays’ 9-7 win over the Yankees on Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park. He struck out one and threw 21 pitches, 14 for strikes.

“For the first outing of the year, I felt really good,” Yarbrough said. “Everything was moving the way I wanted to. After those first couple of batters, I got ahead of the other two -- it’s a matter of finishing guys off instead of just barely missing pitches. For the first outing of the year, I’ll take that every time.”

In an era when pitchers are lighting up the radar gun, Yarbrough has found success in a different way.

The average velocity on Yarbrough’s cutter, his hardest pitch, was 84.1 mph last season. That ranked in the first percentile among Major League pitchers. But what Yarbrough lacks in velocity, he makes up for with his pitchability.

“He’s talked about a lot when guys get to first base off of him and how deceptive he is,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “How the cutter, you don’t see it until late, and all of a sudden, it’s by you or in on your hands. I think he’s pretty well-respected throughout the league.”

Yarbrough’s respect across the league comes thanks to his five-pitch mix. He relies primarily on that cutter, which he throws 36.7 percent of the time, but he also finds success with a sinker, changeup, curveball and the occasional four-seam fastball.

His ability to keep hitters off-balance, even without lighting up the radar gun, resulted in opposing hitters recording an average exit velocity of 84.1 mph in 2019, which was the best in the Majors among pitchers with at least 350 batted balls in play.

During the spring, Yarbrough will get opportunities to start, but he will also come out of the bullpen at times, according to Cash. Both Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos have said they would welcome a move to becoming full-time starters. However, Yarbrough understands that his role will ultimately come down to what the team believes is best.

“It’s one of those things where I just try and show them, I’ve come in and shown I can compete for that [starter] role and prove to them that I can do that,” Yarbrough said. “Obviously, that’s in my thought process a little bit.”

Alvarado throws live BP

José Alvarado threw a live batting practice session on Sunday and it all checked out for the left-hander. Alvarado threw around 20 pitches during his session and he’s tentatively scheduled to pitch in his first Grapefruit League game on Wednesday against the Twins at Charlotte Sports Park.

Grapefruit League notes

For the second consecutive game, Randy Arozarena showed off his skill in the batter’s box and on the basepaths. After going 1-for-1 with a double in Tampa Bay's 4-3 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday, Arozarena went 1-for-1 with a go-ahead two-run triple and two walks in Sunday’s win.

“We think really highly of him,” Cash said. “I know when we acquired him in the deal [with the Cardinals], he was a big part of that deal. We were excited about him, but any time you’re having success and finding the barrel like he has the last two days, it’s good.”

Arozarena would later score after Yankees catcher Wynston Sawyer overthrew the pitcher on the mound.

“He seems like a very heads-up baseball player,” Cash said. “Whether it’s outfield, at the plate, whatever it is.”

Andrew Kittredge was also impressive for the Rays on Sunday, striking out all three batters he faced. Diego Castillo struck out two in his one inning of work.

Up Next

Chirinos will get his first start of the spring on Monday against the Red Sox. Chirinos lost 15 pounds over the offseason and is hoping to earn a spot in the Tampa Bay rotation. Relievers Oliver Drake and Nick Anderson are also scheduled to pitch for the Rays. Watch the action live on MLB.TV at 1:05 p.m. ET.

The full lineup, which is subject to change, is expected to be:

Austin Meadows, LF
Yandy Díaz, 3B
Ji-Man Choi, 1B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, DH
Willy Adames, SS
Kevin Kiermaier, CF
Chris Herrmann, C
Joey Wendle, 2B