Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Call Up Prospect Clarke Schmidt to Start Against Mets on Sunday Night Baseball

The New York Yankees call up pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt to start against the New York Mets on Sunday Night Baseball, optioning shortstop Andrew Velazquez

Max Goodman

The Yankees snapped their season-long losing streak on Saturday night. Now, they'll hand the ball to one of their top pitching prospects on Sunday Night Baseball.

Right-hander Clarke Schmidt was named the starter for a series finale against the Mets at Citi Field, the team announced on Sunday morning.

Schmidt will be making his 2021 debut after three appearances with the big-league club during last year's pandemic-shortened campaign. In his short career, the former first-round pick has allowed five earned runs over 6.1 innings pitched, striking out seven.

The prospect was poised to be a key part of this pitching staff this year, but Schmidt went down with a right elbow strain during spring training, keeping him on the sidelines for several months. He didn't pitch in the minor leagues until the end of July, working his way up to Triple-A just under one month ago.

To make room for Schmidt on the active roster, New York optioned fan favorite Andrew Velazquez to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Velazquez, the hometown hero from the Bronx, had been a spark over the last several weeks, producing some career milestones in pinstripes while playing tremendous defense at shortstop. 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone hinted at Schmidt playing a role with the Bombers earlier this past week. On Saturday, the skipper narrowed the decision down to Schmidt and struggling left-hander Andrew Heaney to start on Sunday. 

If Schmidt can't provide length in his return to the big leagues, expect Heaney to be one of the first pitchers out of New York's injury-ravaged bullpen. That group ate five innings in the win on Saturday and the southpaw was one of the few relievers that didn't get used. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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