MLB Rookie Report: James Pazos, LHP, New York Yankees

The New York Yankees did some roster shuffling last night, sending Chad Green and Conor Mullee down to the minors, designating Phil Coke for assignment, and promoting Luis Cessa, Rob Refsnyder, and James Pazos to the majors. We profiled Cessa earlier this spring; we'll get an article for Refsnyder up this afternoon. Here's a look at Pazos.

This isn't Pazos' first shot in the majors: he got into 11 games with the Yankees last year, pitching five innings with no runs allowed on three hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. He retains rookie status for 2016.

The basics from the 2016 Baseball Prospect Book:

James Pazos, LHP, New York Yankees
Bats: R Throws: L HT: 6-3 WT: 230 DOB: May 5, 1991

Pazos was a 13^th round pick in 2012 from the University of San Diego. He is part of the Yankees Middle Relief Prospect Corps, looking like a fine LOOGY with a 90-96 MPH fastball, a major league slider, and an occasional decent change-up. He’s tough for hitters to pick up and limits hits but his command is inconsistent and could prevent him from taking on a larger role. He could still last for years as a lefty bullpen option of course. Grade C.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY

Pazos had a 2.35 ERA for Triple-A Scranton this spring with a 17/12 K/BB in 15 innings with 13 hits allowed. This is very much in line with past performance: he is not an easy mark for leff-handed batters to pick up (they are hitting just .105 against him this year) but his walk rates are high and right-handers are considerably more successful against him. He would need sharper command to move beyond LOOGY status, but even in that role he could have a viable career.

Here's some spring training bullpen work from NJ.com.