BSN Exclusive: Meet the 24-year-old with a chance to revitalize the Rockies bullpen

DENVER – After 101 starts in the minor leagues, it was expected that right-handed starting pitcher Yency Almonte would make his major league debut as a reliever when he was promoted from Albuquerque on Thursday.

Less than expected was Almonte’s first pitch to be in a big spot in the eighth inning with the tying run at the plate.

The 24-year-old stepped onto the mound at Coors Field with runners at the corners and the hot-hitting Wilmer Flores of the New York Mets at the plate. After a seven-pitch at-bat, Almonte induced a sacrifice fly and the first out of his major league career.

After starting the next hitter 2-0, Almonte battled back for two quick strikes and a ground ball, getting the inning-ending double-play to preserve the Rockies 5-3 lead.

Though he only made eight prior relief appearance during his six-plus seasons, Almonte had some recent experience focused as a reliever before displaying such savvy in his pressurized debut.

During the most recent Arizona Fall League, the righty from Miami, FL pitched exclusively as a reliever. During 10.1 innings in nine appearances with the Salt River Rafters in 2017, he had a 6.97 ERA and a 2.57 WHIP against the other young prospects that comprise the AFL.

But his results as a relief pitcher were not what Almonte remembers most.

“I kind of liked it, honestly. I feel like I was thrown into the action, thrown into the fire, so it gave me the mindset that I need to attack because most of the time it was a 1-0 or 2-0 ballgame and I didn’t want to go out there and give it up,” he told BSN Denver before his MLB call-up.

Over the course of his career, which began as an 18-year-old, Almonte has not surrendered a lot of home runs. His 0.90 HR/9 rate suggests Almonte is quite adept at keeping the ball in the park.

“You gotta make your pitches,” he says. “You can’t miss pitches. You can’t leave the ball up. You’ve got to pitch down in the zone because, especially with guys like me, with high velocity, any ball that’s up that gets barreled, it’s definitely going to go a long way.”

The 17th round selection of the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 has long known that his abilities would translate to being a major leaguer.

“I was traded twice for two big league guys, so I felt like maybe I’m doing something right,” he says. “Maybe I just go out of my way and continue to do what I was doing and maybe I have a chance here.”

At 20, Almonte was traded to the White Sox by the Angels as a player to be named in the Gordon Beckham deal. Later in 2015, he was dealt again, this time to the Rockies for Tommy Kahnle.

Through his time as a member of three different franchises, Almonte learned the differences in why some starters have to transition to a reliever and how others stick as a starting pitcher through the experiences of former Angels teammates like reliever Keynan Middleton and starter Mike Clevinger, who was later traded to the Cleveland Indians.

“As a starter, you need to see the lineup more than once. Go through the lineup a couple times and get deep into the games, maybe six or seven innings, limiting runs. As a reliever, you want to go out there for one or two innings and dominate and keep the game where it’s at.”

The specifics for how Almonte will dominate are simple for the young righty, particularly as he has experience pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and at home in the launching pad known as Isotopes Park.

“I don’t really look into the whole field and how people talk about how the ball flies here. I feel like if I go out of my way and make good pitches and create weak contact, I’m going to do what I know how to do best; And that’s get outs.”

Whether it’s in front the moderate-sized crowds of Triple-A or in front of 44,000 fanatics, like that which erupted during his sterling performance today, Yency Almonte will be called upon to get outs for the Colorado Rockies.