Jimmy Yacabonis

Jimmy Yacabonis
Baltimore Orioles – No. 54
Pitcher
Born: (1992-03-21) March 21, 1992
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 11, 2017, for the Baltimore Orioles
Teams

James Allin Yacabonis (born March 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

Yacabonis attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey and played college baseball at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.[1] He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the 2013 MLB Draft as the 399th pick overall.[2] He spent the 2015 season in  "Class A-Advanced" Frederick Keys in Frederick, Maryland and much of 2016 on the AA Bowie Baysox team in Bowie, Maryland. He held hitters to a .216 average in 2016 "between Frederick and Bowie."[2] Yacabonis was promoted to the AAA Norfolk Tides in Tidewater, Virginia where he became part of the Orioles' reactivated "Norfolk Shuttle"[3] of pitchers waiting to join the big-league squad, then being sent back when they don't perform well.[2][4]

Yacabonis was called up to the majors for the first time on June 11, 2017.[5] As he "had difficultly finding the strike zone" in his first three June 2017 appearances with the Orioles, he was sent back to Norfolk — where as closer he turned in a 0.93 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He was recalled from Norfolk on July 2, 2017, likely to work in middle relief during his second call-up for the Orioles.

Yacabonis replaced Alec Asher, optioned to AAA after allowing five runs in 1.2 innings during a July 1, 2017 game against the Tampa Bay Rays.[6] As Orioles' manager Buck Showalter explains the use of the Norfolk Shuttle . .

. . we have made a point not to send somebody out that’s pitching well. That’s how it works. If somebody’s pitching well and we need an arm, we’re going figure out a way to keep them.

Showalter concedes that having young pitchers "bounce back and forth between two roles", one in the minors and another in the majors, might negatively affect their ability "to perform consistently in either one."[3]

Yacabonis attributes his success in 2017 to his command of a certain pitch. As he says:[2]

I throw predominantly a two-seam fastball, so I feel like a lot of the time the ball might be looking like it’s a fat pitch and then the late movement out of the zone allows me to get that weak contact or sometimes even a swing through and a miss.

In his first up after being called back from Norfolk, Yacabonis shut down the Milwaukee Brewers for 3 1/3 innings, after being charged with an earned run on a "ridiculous rundown". Of his contribution in the game after being sent back down, Showalter said . .

. . Yac was the key. . . we sent him down to get stretched out a little bit and work on some things, shorten up the breaking ball a little bit, and he presented himself well.

As a bonus the "rookie reliever" knocked in the only Orioles' run by grounding out to second base, which scored Ruben Tejada from third in the third inning.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Jimmy Yacabonis Stats & Scouting Report - Baseball America". www.baseballamerica.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Orioles prospect Yacabonis talks about his fastball, life as a minor leaguer". Camden Chat. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  3. 1 2 Schmuck, Peter. "Orioles send Alec Asher back to Norfolk, recall Jimmy Yacabonis to fill long-relief role". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  4. ↑ Pinter, Brian (2017-04-30). "Baltimore Orioles: Inconsistent pitching leads to unexpected roster moves". The Baltimore Wire. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  5. ↑ Encina, Eduardo A. "Orioles pregame: Yacabonis, Verrett join Orioles bullpen; Jackson DFA'd, Crichton optioned". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  6. ↑ "Orioles' Jimmy Yacabonis: Rejoins big club". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  7. ↑ Meoli, Jon. "Wade Miley allows seven runs in 1 2/3 innings in 8-1 loss to Brewers in first game of road trip". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
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