According to John C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel, the Florida Marlins have cut 24-year-old left handed pitcher Zach Kroenke, who they drafted in this offseason’s rule 5 draft, and returned him to the Yankees.
“Kroenke totaled one inning over two Grapefruit League appearances, including one disastrous outing in which he failed to retire any of the seven batters he faced. With Kroenke gone, Taylor Tankersley, Jon Koronka, and Dan Meyer will vie for the second lefty spot in the Marlins’ bullpen.
The Marlins will get back half of the $50,000 draft fee from the Yankees.”
Kroenke threw 43.2 innings for Double-A Trenton and 10 innings for Triple-A Scranton last season. In Trenton, he had a 6-0 record with a 3.09 ERA, 44 strikeouts, 26 walks, and a 1.24 WHIP. In his much shorter stint in Scranton he had a 1-0 record, a 1.80 ERA, 10 K’s, two walks, and a 0.90 WHIP.
Kroenke is basically a two-pitch pitcher throwing fastballs and sliders. His slider is his top pitch as his fastball tops out at 93, usually sitting a bit lower. As a lefty reliever with halfway decent numbers, it’s likely that he will eventually get called up for a stint with the Bombers. Unless they deal him of course.
Don’t expect him in the Bronx too soon as the Yankees, for the first time in years, have a few lefty relievers ahead of him. First of all, Damaso Marte and Phil Coke would have to go down. Then, Michael Dunn, who is already on the 40-man roster, would be called up first.
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