Gomez, a 2012 international sign by the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic, has become an effective two-to-three inning middle-relief arm for Trenton since his promotion June 22, utilizing a high-effort delivery with some deception in it to play up his three-pitch mix.

Originally signed as a potential starter, Gomez has been working mostly from the pen since mid-2016, and his compact frame, live arm, and raw stuff have played well in the role. He works from a rock-step windup and with a tight arm circle, and the arm action is quick, with some violence to it that can cause some occasional head whack, and the effort will cause him to spin out of his plant foot and fall-off the the first base side. Despite the moving parts, he can repeat, and his control numbers have been trending down to an above-average 2.60 BB/9 over his 34 2/3 Double-A innings this year. He’s walked just two batters while striking out 20 over his last seven appearances and 15 1/3 innings. He sports a 0.81 GO:AO ratio, but has allowed just a single home run, showing that he’s generating plenty of soft contact.

His plus to double plus fastball sits comfortably at 93-to-96 mph with the majority of readings at 95 mph. He utilizes his four-seamer more aggressively in the zone with average command, showing late life and some ride to it, and he’ll get a heavier shape to it on occasion down in the zone. His two-seamer shows some run to the arm-side, but it’s not used much. The slider was average, and he has some feel to add/subtract from the offering with average depth and tilt at the higher velo band, and shorter shape and softer bite in the lower band. He showed above-average command of it in my three views, getting regular swing and miss (11.02 SO/9) and soft contact from the secondary. The changeup was fringe-average coming in at a hard 85-to-87 mph with some late parachuting drop, and occasional tumble to the arm side.

He’s a bit of a sleeper for me in the system at present, and while it’s enticing to think on a starting role with the three-pitch mix, his frame, delivery and arm action are better suited to coming out of the bullpen. Add to that some deception and strike-throwing ability with all three offerings, and he’s got a realistic shot at becoming a Role 50 middle reliever.