Nstor Cortes Jr. is dominating in truly unconventional fashion

[Soderstrom]

Nstor Cortes Jr. has been a member of the Yankees since 2013, except for a couple months in Baltimore and a shortened season in Seattle. In all these years, he couldnt secure a spot in New Yorks staff. The former 36th-round pick simply wasnt good enough. In 2021, however, Cortes looks much, much better. His control and command are both dramatically improved, and he uses deception, five different offerings, quick pitches, several windups, and every surprise in his bag of tricks to succeed. Thats the key word. To this point, Cortes has succeeded, even though he had to settle for a minor-league contract in the offseason with only a non-roster invitation to spring training. He had no guarantees of making any impact, but in 16 games this season since being recalled at the end of June, he has a 2. 77 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and a 1. 09 WHIP in 61. 2 frames Nick Ramirez Jersey. Per whiff rate, Cortes is thriving without a truly elite pitch, but hes more than met the challenge of the job with five good, usable ones. How so? Well, the left-hander throws a four-seam fastball , a slider , a curveball , a changeup , and a sinker. Each and every one of those pitches has a whiff rate no lower than 21 percent, but no higher than 24. 7 percent. Theyre all good enough to make hitters look foolish:Cortes has so many pitches, angles, deliveries, and tricks, that he is very difficult to square up, evidenced by his 78th-percentile hard-hit rate. And even though none of those pitches misses bats at an elite rate, that doesnt mean they arent good. In fact, three of them have an expected wOBA or xwOBA below https://www.newyorkystore.com/51-Yankee ... ton_Jersey. 300. Cortes uses his fastball the most, and its been extremely effective, with a. 165 batting average against and a. 221 wOBA. It isnt fluky, as his xwOBA is. 226. He is commanding it very well, and he has been doing so all season long. As Jesse noted the other day, its been one of the best pitches for the Yankees in 2021.