The New York Yankees had high hopes for Michael King as a starter a few years back, after he posted a 1.79 ERA across three levels in his first year in the system in 2018.
However, 2019 was a step backward due to a hip injury, 46 innings in the minors that year along with his two-inning MLB debut in September in Texas, and the pandemic-shortened 2020 was a tough gauge for any pitcher whose role wasn’t established – like King, who made four starts and five relief appearances, all but one of which ranged between two and four innings.
Last year, King was a full-time major-leaguer, making six starts and 16 relief appearances in the Bronx – but once again, his role was more emergency swingman than anything defined. He spent April and May as a long reliever, stepped into the rotation for a month in June, missed two months with a finger injury, and came back in September as a middle reliever capable of length.
That fireman role seems to be where King has landed over the first month of 2021, and, it may be time to forget about being a long-term starter, because the 26-year-old has been a revelation, perhaps the strongest link in a very strong Yankees bullpen.
“I love to be that guy who is out there in close ballgames,” King told MLB.com’s Mike Lupica last week. “I’ve done well enough so far that I’ve pitched myself into high-leverage situations. And I do feel as if I’ve built that trust.”
Well enough is an understatement, because King has become the guy Aaron Boone can go to at any time to shut the door on an opposing team – whether it be for an inning or a turn through the lineup.
Wednesday night in Toronto was just another example of that latter notion, as King went nine up, nine down on 33 pitches, taking over for Nestor Cortes in the fifth inning and bridging the gap with three strikeouts over three perfect frames.
“Kinger came in and was great again, just using everything,” Boone said of King’s night. “The two-seam, four-seam, and the changeup was a good pitch for him. Another outstanding effort by Michael.”
That outing lowered King’s ERA to 0.51, as he has allowed just one earned run over 17 2/3 innings, thanks in part to 25 strikeouts against a WHIP of 0.736 (10 hits, three walks, one of those intentional). And, entering Thursday’s off day, King’s fWAR of 1.2 is the third highest in baseball, behind Kevin Gausman (1.9) and Carlos Rodon (1.3).
Of King’s eight outings, seven are of multiple innings, Wednesday’s the first where he came in before the sixth inning (counting one appearance where he pitched in extra innings). It’s that eighth, though, that may have earned him Boone’s trust: as you may remember, he came into the Yankees’ 3-0 win over Toronto on April 14 with the bases loaded and no one out in the ninth, relieving an ineffective Aroldis Chapman and nailing down the save with a strikeout and a double play.
“He’s got a full arsenal that he can attack with,” Boone said of King last week. “I just think he continues to improve in the strike-throwing department, and that’s probably just a result of experience and being more and more sound and comfortable in his delivery.”
King’s role is reminiscent of a former Yankees minor-league teammate in Garrett Whitlock, who just moved into Boston’s starting rotation after dazzling as a Rule 5 Draft pick last year – he posted a 1.96 ERA in 73 1/3 innings as a multi-use fireman – and starting this year with one run allowed and a 0.620 WHIP in 9 2/3 innings over four relief outings.
He’s been watching his former teammate, and while he still believes he can be a starter like Whitlock has become, he also knows that the most successful reliever in Yankees history – nay, baseball history – started in a similar path as a starter turned multi-inning weapon.
“I’ve been a starter my whole life, and I think that has helped me, because everybody here knows I can throw multiple innings,” King told Lupica. “I think there’s a part of me still hanging onto the hope of being a starter, but not right now, not with our starters being dominant as they’ve mostly been.”
That guy referenced above, Mariano something, did it with one pitch. King has four, and, well, just take his words after he pitched 2 1/3 scoreless against Baltimore last week as to how he finds success:
“When I have all four pitches, I should be able to get outs.”
King’s gotten 53 of them this year, including three of the biggest of the season in that win over Toronto, and even though he didn’t win AL Reliever of the Month somehow, it looks like there are several more big outs and several more chances to come.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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