Yankees' Rising Star Pitcher Seemingly Ahead of Schedule in Rehab

This New York Yankees' rising star pitcher could be back from the IL sooner than expected.

Apr 29, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt (36) twos a second inning pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees could potentially be getting a key piece of their starting rotation back sooner than expected.

On Friday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters in Toronto that rising star pitcher Clarke Schmidt has begun a throwing program.

Back on May 30, the Yankees placed Schmidt on the injured list with a right lat strain and shut him down from throwing for 4-6 weeks. Now, it appears that the righty is ahead of schedule, which is promising news for a Yankee rotation that has been battered around as of late.

Although reigning American League Cy Young Award winning ace Gerrit Cole is back from an elbow injury that sidelined him from early-March until June 19, he has not looked like himself yet. In two starts, Cole has posted a 9.00 ERA across eight total innings with a 1.88 WHIP and allowed four home runs in his previous outing against the New York Mets.

While Cole was out, Schmidt stepped up, posting a 5-3 record, and 2.52 ERA in 11 starts (60.2 innings) to go along with 67 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP.

Lefty Carlos Rodon had a 2.93 ERA on the season and looked impressive until getting knocked around in his previous three starts, which has ballooned his ERA all the way up to 4.42. During this span, Rodon has surrendered 20 earned runs in just 13.2 innings.

As for rookie phenom Luis Gil, the hard-throwing righty has hit a wall all of a sudden with two bad starts in a row, where he has given up 12 runs in 5.2 innings. Gil had a stellar 2.03 ERA on the year until his last two outings, and is now up to a still respectable 3.15.

So, the latest development on Schmidt is a good sign for the Yankees who could use some reinforcements in the near future.