Inside The Pinstripes

This Yankees Left-Hander Is One of the Hottest Pitching Prospects in Baseball

New York Yankees left-hander Ken Waldichuk has been one of the hottest pitching prospects in the minor leagues, playing for the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Max Goodman

Several top prospects within the Yankees' farm system have gotten off to hot starts this season. 

We've seen Estevan Florial already make the jump to Triple-A, knocking on the door of a big-league promotion. Deivi García continues to develop before securing a full-time role in the Bronx. And names like Trevor Hauver and Luis Medina have produced some jaw-dropping numbers. 

When it comes to the pitchers, however, nobody has started the 2021 minor league season as well as Ken Waldichuk down in High-A.

The left-hander—ranked as New York's No. 27 prospect by MLB Pipeline—has posted a pristine 0.00 ERA over his first 10 innings of the year. He's allowed just six hits while walking five batters.

He's been so dominant for the Hudson Valley Renegades that Waldichuk was named in MLB.com's Prospect Team of the Week. Here's MLB's Jim Callis with more:

An unheralded fifth-round pick out of St. Mary's in 2019, Waldichuk blew away Rookie-ball hitters in his pro debut and is doing the same to High-A competition. He recorded all 10 of his outs Tuesday via strikeout and added seven more in four scoreless innings on Sunday to equal Reds right-hander Hunter Greene for the most whiffs among Top 30 Prospects last week. Waldichuk has worked 10 scoreless innings this season, giving up just 11 baserunners while striking out 19.

Waldichuk was also listed as one of the hottest pitching prospects in baseball entering this week by Baseball America.

Those 19 strikeouts have come across three outings, but one stands out in particular. On May 11, all 10 outs Waldichuk recorded over 3.1 innings pitched came via the strikeout. 

MLB Pipeline lists 2022 as Waldichuk's estimated time of arrival to the big leagues. At just 23 years old, with other pitching prospects ahead of him within the organization, next year may be a tad too soon to project a promotion past Triple-A. If he can continue to pitch like this, however, don't be surprised if this southpaw starts to climb through New York's system as quick as his fastball.

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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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