Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Breakout Pitching Candidates for 2022

Miguel Yajure

Like Contreras, Miguel Yajure came to the Pirates in the Jameson Taillon trade. Yajure entered the season as a top-100 prospect according to FanGraphs and looked ready to make an early impact in the Pirate starting rotation.

Also like Contreras, Yajure battled injuries that limited him early in the season. After making a pair of strong starts with the Pirates, Yajure was optioned back to Triple-A where he then suffered an injury that cost him much of the summer.

In 9 starts for the Indians he posted a 3.09 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 7.5% walk rate and a 23.0% strikeout rate in 43.2 innings pitched. Yajure made a total of 4 MLB appearances last season with 3 being starts. While he posted an 8.40 ERA and an 8.50 FIP, most of the damage came when he allowed 10 earned runs and 4 home runs in his final two outings of the season.

While Yajure does not necessarily have any true great pitch, he does have four pitches that are quality MLB pitchers. Yajure’s control should make him at worst a quality back of the rotation arm, with the potential to be a middle of the rotation arm.

Yajure should start the season in the starting rotation for the Pirates. Even if he struggles the Pirates will likely continue to give Yajure every opportunity throughout the season to see if he can lockdown a long-term spot in the team’s starting rotation.