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
Tampa's
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
"My whole family plays," Loaisiga said through teammate and interpreter
"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
Back, and better than ever: Third baseman
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
Kirsten Karbach is a contributor to MiLB.com.