Somehow, Nasty Nestor just keeps getting nastier, and it’s no joke that guy who was a 36th-round draft pick back in 2013 could be, a decade later, a Cy Young Award candidate.
In his last start prior to Sunday, Cortes set a career high with 7 1/3 innings, and took a no-hitter that far before yielding a single to Eli White and being pulled from the game.
His no-hit bid went by the wayside much earlier on Sunday in Chicago, as Luis Robert singled with two outs in the first, but Cortes dominated the White Sox after that; he retired 15 in a row following Robert’s single, allowed just two other baserunner (Tim Anderson singled with two outs in the sixth and Adam Engel hit a solo homer in the eighth), and struck out seven in the Yankees’ 5-1 win.
“That was another special outing,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Just in complete control, working quick and just really sharp. I told him that was good even for him.”
“Even in the bullpen, I felt like my fastball and cutter were there,” Cortes added. “From the first pitch, I felt pretty good.”
Cortes now sports a 1.35 ERA, which is tops in the American League and second in MLB behind only Miami’s Pablo Lopez (1.05), and his 49 strikeouts are sixth in the AL as well. His 0.85 WHIP is second among AL starters behind Justin Verlander, and the league’s .164 average against him trails only Verlander and Sunday’s opponent, Michael Kopech, in all of MLB.
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“He’s been one of the best pitchers in the game, not only this year, but even going back to last year,” Boone said. “He’s been consistent with us, reliable and continues to get better and better.”
Whatever it was that clicked for Cortes last season, it turned him into one of the most dangerous hurlers in baseball. He’s been utilizing his cutter and slider more (he threw the cutter 39 percent of the time on Sunday, and the slider 20 percent), but the combination of changing speeds, arm angles, and ability to locate have made Nasty Nestor one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last 365.
“His cutter, fastball and slider were good,” Yankees catcher Jose Trevino said of Sunday’s outing. “That’s the good thing about Nestor: He can locate all his pitches. He can do anything.”
Cortes made his first appearance of 2021 on May 30, and since then, he has a 2.44 ERA in 133 innings – the lowest in the AL and third-lowest in MLB in that time.
“It’s been pretty good, going back to last year,” Cortes said of his run. “The chances I got, and the ability that I can go out there and pitch every five days, has been incredible for me. As long as I can go out there and compete and give my team a chance, I’m happy.”
His quick delivery, which has been his hallmark, has also kept hitters off-balance, and credit that to Nestor Cortes Sr.
“That’s what I am all about – I like to work at a quick pace to keep hitters off balance and uncomfortable in the box,” Cortes said. “I remember in high school, my dad would be like, ‘Why are you walking so much forward?’ He was sick of me getting tired in the sixth. So, [now] I throw the ball, stay on the mound, get it back and go.”
Given that last statement about tiring, the fact that Cortes Jr. has set career highs in innings pitched each of the last two starts, and threw 100 pitches for the first time ever in his no-hit bid, must also make dad proud.
Cortes was tabbed as likely to be an organizational arm early in his career, a 36th-round pick out of high school that had a funky delivery and not much else. He opened some eyes in the minors in 2016 and 2017 before Baltimore gave him a chance as a Rule 5 pick in 2018, but four runs and 10 hits allowed over 4 2/3 innings in three appearances led him to be returned to the Yankees.
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He was an up and down arm in 2019, pitching to a 5.67 ERA in 66 2/3 MLB innings, and also faltered in Seattle in the pandemic-shortened 2020 (13 runs allowed in 7 2/3 innings) after being dealt to the Mariners for cash in a 40-man roster cleanup deal.
But then came 2021 and a return to the Yankees, and after posting a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings at Triple-A last May, Cortes came up on May 30 and never went back – and may now be, ostensibly, the No. 2 starter in a rotation with two former Cy Young finalists.
Cortes is a big reason the Yankees have the best record in baseball at 25-9 and were first to reach 25 wins, but if you ask him, he’s just another spoke in the wheel.
“There are a lot of good pitchers, I just try to do my part,” he said. “But it’s fun to be in this clubhouse, and this start has been amazing. Hopefully, I can continue.”
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