The New York Yankees have promoted left-handed pitching prospect Tyler Olson to the major league roster. Here's a quick look.
Olson was originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round in 2013 out of Gonzaga. His 2014 season was quite successful, going 12-8, 3.46 in 27 starts between High-A High Desert and Double-A Jackson, with a 127/35 K/BB in 148 innings. He split 2015 between Triple-A Tacoma (4.47 ERA, 53/17 K/BB in 54 innings) and the major league team, seeing action in 11 games for the Mariners. He threw 13 innings with an 8/10 K/BB and 5.40 ERA but retains rookie status heading into 2016.
In late December Olson was sold to the Los Angeles Dodgers who then traded him to the Yankees this past January. He's pitched 13.2 innings in Triple-A this year with a 9/6 K/BB and 15 hits allowed, ERA 6.59.
Olson is 6-3, 195, age 26. His fastball isn't very fast in the 87-90 range but it has good action low in the strike zone. He relies heavily on his curveball, his best pitch, and will mix in a few change-ups from time to time. It is a typical finesse lefty profile. He was used as a starter until 2015 but is seen primarily as a relief option at this point, though one you could use as an emergency/spot starter if needed.
There's also some funk in his delivery as you can see in this clip, starting at 57 seconds.
