Pirates' Miguel Yajure, acquired in Jameson Taillon trade, aims high

Chris Adamski
Sunday, March 7, 2021 6:54 p.m. | Sunday, March 7, 2021 6:54 p.m.

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Miguel Yajure delivers a pitch during a workout last month in Bradenton, Fla. Yajure was the most heralded of the prospects the Pirates received from the New York Yankees from the January trade that sent Jameson Taillon to New York.

Just 22 years old and with a mere 64 professional games at any level to his credit, Miguel Yajure isn’t afraid to shoot high in his first season with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

“I always have really, really (lofty) goals (in addition to modest) ones,” the young right-hander said during a video conference call with media Sunday. “The hard ones are try to make the All-Star team or (be named) rookie of the year. The little ones are just be healthy, throw all the season in the big leagues. Throw more than 200 innings. Something like that.”

Even those latter goals won’t be easy during the pandemic-affected 2021 season, as not even many established veteran pitchers will be asked to throw 200 innings. And with only seven major league innings on his resume, Yajure is considered a long shot to make the Pirates rotation when the regular season begins.

Still, even if Yajure isn’t selected for the Midsummer Classic or given the National League’s Jackie Robinson Award at this season’s end, he has enough promise that it wouldn’t be surprising if he was in the big league rotation sooner rather than later.

“The thing that I really like out of him is his ability to execute four pitches,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He throws the ball around the plate. He goes after guys.”

Among the four players acquired from the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Jameson Taillon in January, Yajure figures to be the first to play in the majors. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Yajure (pronounced Yah-hoo-ray) ascended into the list of the Yankees’ top-10 prospects (by Baseball America) within a few years after signing for $30,000 out of Venezuela in 2015.

I guess I like Miguel Yajure now pic.twitter.com/lLHKfQlP6K

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) September 1, 2020

The others involved in the trade — fellow right-hander Roansy Contreras, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba and infielder Maikol Escotto — are earlier in their professional development.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington loaded up for the future by making several deals in the offseason. Yajure, who sat out the 2017 season because of Tommy John surgery, might be one of the first recent trade acquisitions to make an impact.

Shelton said after the trade was executed Jan. 24, he reached out to some contacts he had in the Yankees organization to gather intel on Yajure.

“They said really positive things about him — about the kid, about his ability to command the baseball, about his ability to stay on the plate,” Shelton said. “And that’s something that’s extremely important to us, and he’s shown that so far in his bullpen, his live (batting practice sessions) and in games.”

Yajure’s game action this spring has been limited to one inning. He allowed a towering home run to Wander Franco but retired the other three batters he faced Wednesday in Port Charlotte, Fla., against the Tampa Bay Rays.

According to MLB’s official statistical service, during his brief MLB action last season, Yajure threw a four-seam fastball (92.4 mph average), changeup, curveball and cutter with an occasional slider. The changeup and curve, in small sample sizes of 33 and 26 pitches respectively, each had whiff rates of more than 30%.

#Yankees’ Miguel Yajure — the first player in MLB history to wear No. 89, which was the only number yet to be used in a big league game — needed just six pitches to retire the side in order in his debut. pic.twitter.com/aiM3qoFJZB

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 1, 2020

“Right now, I feel like I have a lot of control with my curveball,” Yajure said. “I throw it every bullpen, every game with confidence. I can control it really good.”

Yajure left an organization that has legitimate World Series aspirations for one that is building for the future. But his status within the Pirates is similar to what it was with the Yankees. Yajure is considered one of the top projected future MLB starting pitchers in the upper levels of the Pirates system.

“I want to remain hungry,” Yajure said. “I want to remain as a player who’s working hard, who’s trying to grow and master every area of his craft.

“I just try to remain focused on my work, remain humble so that everything can be felt like it was earned and not just given.”

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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.