Yhoiker Fajardo Named Minor League Pitcher of the Week

The Cardinal Chronicle
Yhoiker Fajardo Named Minor League Pitcher of the Week
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Yhoiker Fajardo keeps giving the Cardinals reasons to pay attention.

The 19-year-old right-hander, already named the Cardinals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April, continued his impressive run during the May 4-11 reporting window and has been selected as The Cardinal Chronicle’s Minor League Pitcher of the Week.

Fajardo earned the honor after another strong outing for High-A Peoria, striking out seven batters over five innings of one-run ball. It was another example of why his stock is climbing inside the organization.

The numbers continue to tell the story. Fajardo opened the season by posting a 1-0 record with a 1.69 ERA, 20 strikeouts and only two walks over 16 innings in April. His best outing that month came April 19, when he allowed only three baserunners over five shutout relief innings to earn his first High-A win.

That was enough to earn organizational recognition. His latest work showed it was no fluke.

What separates Fajardo right now is not just the stuff. It is the strike throwing. Young pitchers with live arms are easy to dream on. Young pitchers who can miss bats without creating their own trouble are the ones who start moving.

Fajardo has done both. He has shown the ability to put hitters away, but he has also limited free passes and kept himself out of the kind of innings that derail young arms. That matters, especially for a pitcher who is still one of the younger arms at the High-A level.

There were other worthy candidates this week. Liam Doyle turned in his best professional start for Springfield, working five innings, allowing two earned runs, walking none and striking out a career-high eight. Christian Worley gave Peoria valuable scoreless relief work on a rough night for the staff. Max Rajcic also continued to provide quality work for Memphis out of the bullpen.

But Fajardo had the best combination of weekly performance, season-long trend and prospect momentum.

The Cardinals have a young arm worth watching closely. For now, Fajardo is not just holding his own at High-A. He is beginning to separate himself.

The Cardinal Chronicle’s Minor League Pitcher of the Week for May 4-11 is Yhoiker Fajardo.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports