NYY @ WSN: Clarke Schmidt vs. MacKenzie Gore

Mar 22, 2023 - 4:35 PM

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Good afternoon all! It’s a semi-hasty thread today, but since once again Major League Baseball is not broadcasting a spring training game at all, I’m not going to feel that sorry about it. There’s no TV or radio, so we’ll only be able to follow along on Gameday. Delightful!

Clarke Schmidt gets the ball today for one of his final starts of the spring. With Carlos Rodón and Frankie Montas out, the 27-year-old former first-round pick is in good shape to earn the Yankees’ final Opening Day rotation spot. This spring, he has a 4.66 ERA but a 0.686 WHIP in 11.2 innings of work, striking out 17 batters while featuring a new cutter.

Schmidt goes head-to-head with another first-round alum, MacKenzie Gore, who is at the outset of his first full season with the Nationals following the Juan Soto trade last August. Once the No. 3 overall pick and a lofty Padres prospect, Gore hasn’t lived up to that billing over the past few years and has a 7.07 ERA with a 1.929 WHIP in 14 innings this spring. Maybe he’s working on some stuff, but that’s probably not quite what the Nats want to see (though he’ll almost certainly start anyway because that is plainly not a win-now rotation).

Oswald Peraza gets to lead off and play shortstop as the likelihood of him starting there on Opening Day continues to grow. He’ll be followed by Gleyber Torres at the keystone and a powerful one-two punch of Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton. Oswaldo Cabrera gets another look at third base, while Aaron Hicks, Estevan Florial, and non-roster invitee Rafael Ortega fill out the outfield. Hicks is for better or for worse essentially a lock for Opening Day, but both Florial and Ortega are trying to make cases to be among the final 26 as well with center fielder Harrison Bader on the shelf.

How to Watch:

Location: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches — Palm Beach, FL

First pitch: 1:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: None

Radio broadcast: None

Online stream: MLB.tv

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