I guess the headline says it, Nathan Lukes hits the IL with a left hamstring strain. Yohendrick Piñango gets the call up. Yimi Garcia was moved to the 60-day IL to make room for Yohendrick.
Piñango is hitting .288/.370/.488 with 3 home runs in 22 games. He is a left-handed batter and also throws left-handed. He’s split time between left and right field, which surprised me because they usually place lefties in right field. I’m interested to see him place. He’s on the bench for today’s game.
Yohendrick is #13 on our top 40 prospects list this year. Tom M wrote:
The return for Nate Pearson at the 2024 deadline didn’t look like much at the time. Pinango signed with the Cubs out of Venezuela in 2018, and while he lit up the DSL the next summer he was pretty unremarkable over the three minor league seasons following the pandemic. A torrid first month of the 2024 season at A+ popped him onto the radar and probably lead to the trade. He bombed in his first 33 games in the Jays system, posting a .518 OPS at AA New Hampshire. It all came together in 2025, though. Pinango torched the Eastern league to the tune of .298/.406/.522, earning a promotion to AAA Buffalo. He cooled down there, but still posted a roughly average line with lots of walks, solid K numbers, and some pop.
Pinango has always been a solid contact hitter, but his breakout was fueled by trading an aggressive approach for a very selective one. He now watches more strikes than would be ideal, but he rarely chases and waits on pitches he can hammer. As for the hammering part, his max exit velocity in Buffalo was over 115mph. Only 30 major leaguers last year could say the same. his 91.9mph average exit velocity and 47.6% hard hit rate were both comfortably plus. The lone offensive knock on him is that while he hits enough fly balls, his best power comes a low angles, producing line drives and hard grounders instead of home runs. If he can fix that, he could be a cleanup calibre hitter, and even if he can’t the combination of patience, contact and strength is enough for a viable offensive profile.
There’s a lot of pressure on the bat, as Pinango is a below average runner whose ugly routes and iffy arm make him a liability even in left field. If it comes together offensively he can be a regular regardless, but anything short and he’s likely a bench bat or not an MLB player.
I hope we get to see him play some.
Today’s lineup against a lefty. Okamoto moves up.
Today’s Lineups
|
GUARDIANS |
BLUE JAYS |
|---|---|
|
Steven Kwan – CF |
Myles Straw – RF |
|
Chase DeLauter – DH |
Ernie Clement – 2B |
|
Jose Ramirez – 3B |
Vladimir Guerrero – 1B |
|
Rhys Hoskins – 1B |
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B |
|
Angel Martinez – LF |
Eloy Jimenez – DH |
|
David Fry – RF |
Daulton Varsho – CF |
|
Juan Brito – 2B |
Davis Schneider – LF |
|
Bo Naylor – C |
Andres Gimenez – SS |
|
Brayan Rocchio – SS |
Tyler Heineman – C |
|
Joey Cantillo – LHP |
Kevin Gausman – RHP |
Max Scherzer on ‘getting punched in the face’. Really, he can’t say much else, but I don’t know if there is anything left in that arm. The team hasn’t announced if Trey Yesavage will make one more minor league start or if he’ll be put in Scherzer’s (or Lauer’s) spot next time through the rotation.
Read the full article here
