FSL notes: Yanks' Loaisiga shows staying power

Tampa's Jonathan Loaisiga has a chance to join elite company.
The 23-year-old from Managua, Nicaragua, was originally signed by the Giants and made his professional debut in 2013 with their Rookie-level affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. He pitched well but missed the next two years due to shoulder injuries, and San Francisco released him at the age of just 20.

The Yankees offered Loaisiga a contract the following offseason, and he made one appearance for Class A Charleston in 2016. In his first professional outing in nearly three years, Loaisiga pitched just 2 1/3 innings. His career was again put on hold when he missed the remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. 
Despite a challenging start to his professional career, the hard-throwing right-hander has persevered. Backed by a lineage of formidable baseball talent, Loaisiga aims to become one of just a handful of Nicaraguan natives to don a Major League uniform.
Currently, only three MLB players were born in Nicaragua -- pitchers Erasmo Ramírez and JC Ramírez, and infielder Cheslor Cuthbert. Just 14 players in MLB history hail from the Central American nation.

"My whole family plays," Loaisiga said through teammate and interpreter Donny Sands. "My brother plays now in the Dominican Republic with the Dodgers. My dad played, he signed with the Expos, and my grandpa even played.
"Probably the biggest impact on my baseball career was my grandpa, because I kind of grew up with him. That's what has helped me the most."
Loaisiga's grandfather was a pitcher in the Nicaraguan professional baseball league; his father, Stanley, is the all-time home run leader in Nicaragua and also played professionally in the Montreal Expos system. His younger brother, Mike, has played the last two seasons as a third baseman with the Dodgers' DSL team.
The 5-foot-11 hurler, who's been pitching since he was eight years old, possesses a formidable fastball that sits 95-97 mph. Loaisiga also works with an upper-80s changeup and a hard, mid-80s curveball.
In his return from surgery, he made 11 starts between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Yankees and Class A Short-Season Staten Island last year. He combined to put up a sparkling 1.38 ERA between both levels while showcasing impressive control, as he issued three walks while racking up 33 strikeouts over 32 2/3 innings.
Because Loaisiga would have been eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, the Yankees elected to protect him and add him to their 40-man roster this November. He appeared in one Grapefruit League game, working a hitless inning against the Atlanta Braves on March 2.
Ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the Yankees system, Loaisiga opened this year in Tampa and was brilliant in his first two outings. He hurled five scoreless innings in each of his first two starts, scattering six hits total while not permitting a walk.
Loaisiga won both starts, and his dominance earned him Florida State League Pitcher of the Week honors on April 15. He yielded his first two runs of the season against Clearwater in his next outing, but matched a career high with nine strikeouts in a solid five innings.
For a talented hurler forced to sit out more games thus far in his professional career than he has taken part in, Loaisiga's goal for this year in simple.
"Just stay healthy."

In brief

Whiff this way: Palm Beach left-hander Ian McKinney is the only FSL reliever with four or more appearances and no hits allowed this season. The 23-year-old Cardinals prospect has permitted only two baserunners -- via a walk and a hit batter in his first outing -- and has retired the last 12 batters he's faced. McKinney has whiffed 12 in his 5 2/3 innings, striking out 60 percent of his opponents to start the season.
Back, and better than ever: Third baseman Mitch Nay is off to a hot start with Daytona after Cincinnati selected him from Toronto in the Minor League phase of the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. Nay carries a .317 average through his first 16 games, is second in RBIs with 18, tied for fourth in the league with four home runs and is fourth in slugging percentage at .603. He first appeared in the FSL at the end of 2014, then played a full season in Dunedin in 2015. The 24-year-old native of Arizona missed nearly all of 2016 and half of 2017 due to injury.
Home run derby: The Jupiter Hammerheads and Daytona Tortugas combined to set an FSL record on April 14, when the teams tallied 11 home runs in Jupiter's 18-13 win. The previous record of 10 had been set on July 30, 1989 (St. Petersburg vs. Dunedin). The Hammerheads clobbered six of the 11 homers with John Silviano and Stone Garrett each going yard twice, while Joe Dunand and rehabbing Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto homered once. Nay homered twice for the Tortugas, and Dilson Herrera, Daniel Sweet and Taylor Trammell all added one. The Hammerheads erased an early 9-2 deficit, powered by a nine-run fifth inning. The victory kicked off an eight-game winning streak for Jupiter.