1 of Yankees’ top pitching prospects has the right stuff to be closer Aroldis Chapman’s successor
Updated 8:18 AM;
Today 8:17 AM
New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is second in the American League with nine saves this season.
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Father Time remains undefeated.
But the 33-year-old southpaw can’t throw 100 mph forever. Eventually the Yankees will need to identify the team’s closer of the future.
MLB.com has done just that, reporting that prospect Luis Medina could be the right man for the job.
Signed for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, Medina has some of the best pure stuff in the Minors with an upper-90s fastball that reaches 102 with natural cut, a low-80s curveball that can be an absolute hammer and a 90-mph changeup with splitter action. He has had trouble harnessing it for much of his career before making some strides recently, and he definitely has closer upside if the Yankees ever decide to simplify his role.