One caveat: I would like to see how he handles AAA first before we get too excited.

So, I guess my question to you and others is: (barring injury and the unforseen)…. is this guy likely to be a (ML) Yankee pitcher?

A slender Dominican right-handed starter, Hector Noesi has posted some absurd K/BB ratios in his brief minor league career and holds a career mark of 5.74 (!) thanks to a 9.1 K/9 and minuscule 1.6 BB/9. The catch is that Noesi has been a bit old for his leagues because of something of a checkered history. Noesi hit the DL with a strained shoulder in 2006, served a 50-game drug suspension in 2007, then finished that year by having Tommy John surgery. That meant he was essentially starting over in Rookie ball at age 21 in 2008. Last year was his first in full-season ball, and he spent most of it in the Sally League at age 22. Still, his peripherals held in his nine High-A starts as he walked just four men (four!) in 41 1/3 innings, resulting in an even 10:1 K/BB. Noesi throws a low-90s heater that he can get up to 95 mph and compliments it with an outstanding curve with a big break and a two-seamer, all of which he, obviously, throws for strikes. He should make the leap to Double-A this year at age 23. He’ll be helped by his home park, but we should nonetheless learn a lot about his legitimacy as a prospect now that he’s finally reached the upper levels.

He doesn’t have a ton of stuff, but he sure knows how to pitch. He doesn’t have a pitch that any scout would put a 60 on, but his fastball has average to plus movement with some cutting action, his curveball is solid, his change is good, and he absolutely pounds the strike zone and pitches without fear. After giving up five runs over six innings in his Double-A debut, Noesi’s ERA in 1.17 in seven games, including 44 whiffs and just seven unintentional walks in 46 innings. It’s not a crazy high ceiling, but Noesi sure looks like a major-league starter and could be a nice trade chip in the coming month.

From a Yankee standpoint it was one of the most forgettable games I’ve ever been to, but from an objective baseball fan perspective…wow.