; ;

Prospect Spotlight: Gabriel Ynoa Having Stellar Season

By Former Writers

June 28, 2013 1 Comment

gabriel ynoa

To start the season in Savannah with the Sand Gnats, Mets farmhand Rainy Lara was getting a lot of attention for his performance, and rightfully so. Before he got promoted to High-A in St. Lucie, the right-hander was among the league leaders in various categories. His 4-2 record, 1.42 ERA, 51 strikeouts, and six walks in 50.2 innings pitched were hard to overlook.

Now that he’s moved on to the Florida State League, that’s allowed his former teammate, Gabriel Ynoa, to take the spotlight on the mound. His most recent dominant performance came on June 26th against Augusta; he allowed one run on five hits, no walks, and four strikeouts in six solid innings pitched. That brings his season totals to an impressive 9-2 with a 2.68 ERA, 67 strikeouts, and nine walks in 80.2 innings pitched.

Without Lara dominating alongside him in the Sand Gnats rotation, Ynoa has made his way up the SAL leader board in numerous statistical categories, including:

  • wins: 9 (1st)
  • ERA: 2.68 (8th)
  • complete games: 1 (T-1st)
  • innings pitched: 80.2 (3rd)
  • WHIP: 0.93 (1st)

That’s not even considering his fantastic 1.0 BB/9IP rate he’s put together in Low-A, either. Since joining the Mets organization with the DSL Mets in 2010, Ynoa has shown his ability to pound the strike zone; his career BB/9 is 1.0, while his K/9 is 6.1. His ability to make hitters swing and miss has improved over the last two years, as his K/9 since 2012 is 7.5.

His current hot streak has been going on for a good month and a half now. Since allowing five runs on eight hits on May 7th, Ynoa has allowed more than three runs in a start just once in his last seven starts. He also hasn’t walked a batter since May 20th, which includes 24 strikeouts over a span of 47.1 innings pitched.

At the young age of 20 and a native of the Dominican Republic, Ynoa has tremendous poise and mound presence that go far beyond his years. He’s been trusting the combination of his fastball, slider, and change up, which has translated that into a breakout year with Savannah. As of right now, he’s likely projected to be a back of the rotation kind of pitcher if he continues to develop and makes his way to the majors as a starter. He’s at least three or four years away from the bigs, but at the present moment, his future is bright as he enjoys a wonderful 2013 with the Sand Gnats.

Latest Comments
  1. 3doza33