There are scouts who love Johnny Brito and mean it as no slight that they project him as a reliever.
With a high-90s fastball and elite changeup, Brito might be able to dominate the late innings in a fashion similar to the veteran Tommy Kahnlewho used his fastball and changeup to earn the save in Wednesday’s 4-2 Yankees win over Seattle.
It’s not time to go there yet, though — not when there is still room for growth in Brito’s two other off-speed pitches, the curveball and slider.
Although some starting pitchers in recent seasons, most prominently Jacob deGrom, Spencer Strider and Carlos Rodonhave pitched like closers with fastball/slider combos, the vast majority of starters need at least three pitches (and even Rodon is hoping to work his changeup more heavily into the mix when he is finally able to debut this year).
In Brito’s nine big league starts before a demotion in May, his fastball and changeup were clearly ready for prime time. The other two pitches, not so much.
Wednesday’s start, Brito’s first for the Yankees since May 20, offered progress on several fronts. The headline was that his 5.2 innings, two hit, no runs performance managed to outduel one of the best pitchers in baseball, former future Yankee Luis Castillo (five innings, four hits, three runs).
Under that surface, there were positive indicators of Brito’s development.
One, his pitch sequencing was better, likely the result of a collaboration with pitching coach Matt Blakeanalyst Zac Fieroh and catcher Kyle Higashioka. Every year, Yankees pitchers have complimented this group, which also includes Jose Trevinowith devising what they call “pitch packages.”
In this case, Brito used his changeup more judiciously than before, often keeping it in his holster until he needed it to finish off hitters.
“I thought he did a good job incorporating his breaking ball, especially the first time through[thelineup”hesaid[thelineup”said Aaron Boone. “It helped him with the changeup.”
And that breaking ball, key to establishing Brito as a starting pitcher, seemed a bit sharper than during his stint with the team in April and May.
“It was encouraging to see it there today,” Boone said of the curveball. “For him moving forward, when it comes to being a starter, having that third pitch — even just a pitch he can throw in the strike zone for a strike when you need it as something to get them off the fastball/changeup… He actually got some swing and miss with it. He got some strikes with it. It felt like maybe a little more of a presence with it. I have to look at the stuff and see the quality.”
Brito threw 21 curveballs and just three sliders in the game, but twice brought up the slider in his postgame interview as a pitch he felt was also progressing.
“The slider, really, I’ve been using more against righties,” Brito said through an interpreter. “And the curveball for lefties. You get a pretty good idea, who is up, who is a lefty hitter you can use the curveball against. That’s how you break down your usage depending on the opponent.”
That type of thoughtfulness has to be almost as encouraging for the Yankees as the gradually improving quality of the pitches themselves. Brito clearly has an idea how to mix the breaking balls in with his two best pitches.
As he continues to work on the slider and curve, the team will develop a better idea of how far those breaking balls can progress, and how Brito can best help them once their rotation is closer to full health.