Young Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt made his second, and presumably final, rehab start with the Somerset Patriots on Thursday night.
In his first inning on the mound, Schmidt allowed just one walk but pitched a scoreless frame. He’d strike out the first batter he faced in the second, freezing Keaton Anthony on a curveball at the knees. He then picked up two groundball outs to end the inning.
Schmidt would pick up two more strikeouts in the third — both looking — to work around a one-out single. In his final inning of work, Schmidt started with the fourth and final strikeout of his night, and although he allowed a double, the right-hander did not allow them to score.
The 29-year-old completed his second rehab start, pitching 4.0 scoreless innings on 61 pitches (45 strikes). He allowed three hits but did not walk a batter, showing his command of the strike zone.
Clarke Schmidt threw 4 scoreless innings in his rehab start for Somerset tonight
4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (61 pitches)
3 of his 4 strikeouts came on curveballs looking 👀 pic.twitter.com/nZdXkTmmHU
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 10, 2025
In Schmidt’s first rehab start back on April 5, he was dominant, allowing just one hit and one walk across 3.1 scoreless innings while striking out seven batters. Schmidt threw 51 pitches (37 strikes) in that first start.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said they are penciling Schmidt to return to the rotation either April 15 or 16, when the team hosts the Kansas City Royals early next week. Of course, that’s only If Schmidt comes away from Thursday’s start feeling good.
New York will have to figure out where Schmidt fits in. They can option youngster Will Warren to the minors or designate for assignment veteran Carlos Carrasco, who has struggled to start the season after an impressive spring. A decision likely won’t be made until the start of the Royals series on Monday.
Read the full article here
