What under-the-radar Yankees prospect thinks of his big shot

Yankees prospect Jonathan Loaisiga will make his major-league debut against the Rays at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

NEW YORK — Double-A Trenton manager Jay Bell summoned Jonathan Loaisiga into his office at Arm & Hammer Park.

Bell told the 23-year-old Nicaraguan that “a big opportunity was coming for me and I was coming to pitch here in the big leagues,” Loaisiga said via a translator.

Despite skipping Triple-A and despite a professional career plagued with injury and relatively few opportunities to show his best stuff, Loaisiga seemed calm and confident while speaking with reporters before Thursday’s game against the Rays at Yankee Stadium.

On Friday, Loaisiga — the Yankees’ No. 12 overall prospect, according to MLB.com — will make his major-league debut.

“Super excited,” he said. “This is a great opportunity the Yankees are giving me. I’m very excited. Very thankful for that and thank god.”

Possible Yankees target is “aggressive”

Loaisiga will become the 15th player from Nicaragua to reach the bigs.

He’ll step into the spot vacated by Masahiro Tanaka, who is on the disabled list with two strained hamstrings and could be out for weeks.

Manager Aaron Boone said Loaisiga will be used on a start-by-start basis but that his performance could dictate a larger role.

“There’s just an easy way about him,” Boone said. “I think he’s really talented. I think he’s going to be a really good pitcher in this league. I think swagger’s not the right work but there’s just a presence about him that he carried. There’s a humility that he walks around with. But I also believe there’s a confidence that he’s kind of unaffected by anything going on around him and I’m excited to see him pitch here.

“It’s a guy with a really good arm, really simple athletic delivery and I think a big reason why he’s the guy that we chose is because we feels like his stuff is excellent but I feel like his delivery is low-maintenance enough that it should allow him to step up here and be representative right away, I think.”

Loaisiga went 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA in six starts at Double-A Trenton and he got hit hard for four runs in two innings in his last outing. He went 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA at High-A Tampa before getting promoted.

He made just one start in 2016 due to Tommy John surgery and had shoulder issues early in his career.

“I got to say, got to thank god for the strength,” he said. “It’s been a tough road for me to get here and now it’s about enjoying this moment and enjoying this opportunity and I want to do my best for my team, for my family, for my son, and focus on winning.”

Being at major-league spring training with the Yankees helped, he said.

“To see these guys,” he said, “to be around them in spring training, to see what kind of routines they have, learned from that, listened to the tips — it’s definitely an advantage and an experience to hear from them and get pointers from them. Basically telling them, don’t do anything out of the normal, just do the things you know how to do, don’t do too much and just pitch the way you know how to.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.