Yankees 'bizarro right-hander' building on first pro action in the desert

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – On Thursday, October 8, Yankees right-hander Mack Estrada entered his Arizona Fall League game for the Salt River Rafters in the second inning to relieve J.T. Etheridge. He threw one pitch to finish the inning, and his day was done, as Etheridge returned to get more work in, with the AFL using the re-entry rule utilized in Spring Training.

It’s the kind of Fall League appearance that understandably doesn’t register on any radars. But for Estrada, any mound time is important.

“I'm happy just to get out there and that's really it,” Estrada said after the game. “I wish I could have gone a little bit longer, but I came in, got the job done. It's all that really matters.”

It’s been a long time since Estrada has been given a chance to get the job done. The Yankees were bullish on the junior college right-hander when the 2024 Draft was approaching. The Northwest Florida State College product was one of the more intriguing JUCO arms in the class, one with a bit of a throwback profile.

“He’s not the poster child they’re looking for, with the four-seamer with ride,” said Yankees area scout Chuck Bartlett, who has been scouting in the southeast, often including the Florida Panhandle, for more than two decades. “He’s kind of old school with the sinker, and the sink plays against wood bats. 

“He’s a bizarro right-hander because he could not throw a ball straight. Everything moved. At times, it was late and crisp, and the kid competed.”

One of the difficulties in scouting the junior college ranks is there isn’t as much data as there is coming from four-year schools. Bartlett knew what he saw, pitching crosschecker Scott Lovekamp backed up that opinion. Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer trusts his scouts, but it certainly didn’t hurt when Estrada threw well in the state tournament in 2024 at the Yankees’ own Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

It was there that they could capture their own data and see that it backed up Bartlett’s evaluations, and Estrada became a Day 3 target. There was a commitment to Florida State to contend with, but the Yankees figured out their bonus pool to bring Estrada into the fold, going way over slot with a bonus just over $640,000.

“I was thrilled with the pick, as long as we could sign him,” Bartlet said. “I thought he could really take off.”

Instead, Estrada was grounded quickly. He didn’t pitch after signing, which is how the Yankees (and most teams) handle pitchers post-Draft. Early in 2025, he hurt his right elbow and Tommy John surgery came next, wiping out all of what was supposed to be his first full year. He didn’t make his official pro debut until July of this season, when he tossed 4 1/3 Florida Complex League innings. It’s a big leap from that to the AFL facing guys with a lot more experience, but Estrada didn’t hesitate.

“It was always in the back of my mind, and then maybe like three-four weeks before the Fall League started, they're like, ‘Hey, Mack, you're going to go pitch over there.’ I'm like, ‘OK, let's do it.’”

Estrada has thrown just three times, a total of 2 2/3 innings, to date, for Salt River. That might not sound like much, but given his overall lack of pro innings, it’s significant. Pre-Draft, Estrada had an intriguing arsenal of that low-90s two-seamer that could touch 95-96 mph, an easily projectable slider and an improving changeup. He hasn’t gotten back to that yet, with his fastball sitting around 90 mph so far, but that’s why he’s in Arizona in the first place.

“I'll say the main thing is probably just find myself again,” Estrada named as his main objective this fall. “Two years ago, I was an amazing pitcher, and then I've just had all this downtime. So now it's just about proving myself and getting back into the swing of things like I was used to, back before I got drafted.”

That pitcher was a 6-foot-4 projectable arm, with some work to do to reach that ceiling. A solid athlete and uber-competitor, Estrada played football, as a defensive end, and he used that competitive edge to attack his rehab and become more physical. Now it’s all about him getting back to what Bartlett saw in the first place.

“He had some things to clean up with his delivery, the consistency of the secondary stuff needed to come on,” Bartlett said. “I thought he’d be at least a No. 5, probably a No. 4, starter.”

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For now, though, Estrada will get his relief innings in the AFL and hopes it will serve as a stepping stone to a healthy 2027 season. He also wants it to send a clear message to the Yankees and their fan base.

“That I'm back, that I'm ready to go, and I'm ready to shove,” he said. “It's been a long time of waiting and just training and getting prepared for moments like this, and I'm just happy to finally be back and compete.”