Yankees’ Jonathan Loaisiga debuts Thursday | What you need to know, scouting report

Yankees pitching prospect Jonathan Loaisiga will make his MLB debut against the Rays on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, manager Aaron Boone said.

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NEW YORK — Despite one of the tougher minor-leagues roads you’ll hear about, Yankees pitching prospect Jonathan Loaisiga will make his MLB debut Thursday, manager Aaron Boone said.

Loaisiga will jump from Double-A Trenton straight to Yankee Stadium, where he’ll face the Rays.

How Yankees discovered Loaisiga

Who is he? Loaisiga, 23, is a righty from Nicaragua. He’ll be the 15th player from his country to play in the majors. MLB.com ranks him the Yankees’ No. 12 overall prospect.

What’s he done? At Double-A, he was 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA in his last six starts. He went just two innings and 49 pitches on Sunday, giving up four runs. It seemed like the Yankees may have cut his outing short to ready him for a big-league start. 

Why is this happening? The Yankees put Masahiro Tanaka (strained both hamstrings) on the disabled list Saturday. The team isn’t sure how long he’ll be out. Boone and general manager Brian Cashman each have speculated Tanaka could miss weeks.

What else did Boone say? “He’s really talented,” the manager said. “We think he has a very bright future. His stuff is really good. He’s a guy that pounds the strike zone. For being a young guy that’s only still at Double-A, with him being on the roster, we feel like he’ll come up here and just getting to know him ma little bit this spring, we don’t feel like he’ll be overwhelmed by pitching here at Yankee Stadium in the big leagues. We feel like he’s repertoire, his stuff will allow him to have a chance to be successful for us. We don’t necessarily expect him to go real deep into the game, but we feel like he’ll give us a real opportunity to give us a quality start.”

Scouting report? Via MLB.com: 

While Loaisiga is small and skinny, he has surprising power to his three-pitch repertoire. His quick arm repeatedly generates 93-96 mph fastballs that top out at 98 with life down in the strike zone. His low-80s curveball features a high spin rate and his upper-80s changeup has nice fade, albeit with a bit too much velocity.

Loaisiga has a clean delivery that he repeats well, allowing him to work the bottom of the strike zone and issue just three walks in 32 2/3 innings last season. His stuff and control give him a ceiling of a mid-rotation starter, though his size and health history are concerns. If he winds up in the bullpen, his stuff should add even more power and he could rush through the Minors.

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