Yankees' Clarke Schmidt: Adding cutter to arsenal

Schmidt developed a cutter during the offseason, and he hopes the pitch will help him be more effective against lefty hitters, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

The directive to develop the new pitch came from the organization and was predicated on the belief that the cutter could come easily to Schmidt given the natural cut and high spin rate on his four-seam fastball. Per Joyce, metrics on the pitch have looked good when Schmidt has thrown it during bullpens, and the right-hander said he already feels comfortable deploying it. If the cutter proves to make Schmidt more effective against left-handed batters, it could help him win the fifth-starter spot in the rotation to begin the campaign, as he's currently competing with Domingo German for the role that is up for grabs due to Frankie Montas' impending right shoulder surgery.