Nestor Cortes

Nestor Cortes

28-Year-Old PitcherSP
New York Yankees
15-Day IL
Injury Shoulder
Est. Return 7/6/2023
2023 Fantasy Outlook
If you go back and look at Cortes's 2022 outlook, you can see he teased at what was possible, but without a large body of work, everyone was right to be skeptical of what Cortes would be as a starter. Those who took the chance in the late rounds were greatly rewarded by one of the best late round steals in 2022 as the lefty picked up where he left off in 2021 for most of the 2022 season. Cortes uses varying arm angles, deliveries, and pitches to frustrate hitters all season. 75% of what he threw were four-seamer and cutters, and those two pitches were paired so well that the league hit below .200 against both pitches while all five of his offerings had whiff rates above 20%. In 330 innings of work, he has a career 80% LOB rate and a .266 BABIP, so his 2022 numbers ( 79%, .243) are not terribly out of line and a continuation of what he did in 2021. The stuff is not paritcularly special, but his ability to spin and sequence it is certainly special and being a lefty in Yankee Stadium doesn't hurt either. The big question is if he can put up consecutive seasons of workload as he has never done so. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#125
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Yankees in January of 2023.
Officially placed on IL
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
June 8, 2023
Cortes was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to June 5, with a left rotator cuff strain.
ANALYSIS
Cortes was diagnosed with the injury earlier this week and is going to be shut down from throwing for at least the next 13 days or so. The best-case scenario probably puts him back in the Yankees' rotation just before the All-Star break. Randy Vasquez will be up to make a spot start in the second half of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox, but New York won't need a dedicated fifth starter again until closer to the end of June.
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Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
91
Last 10 Games
92
Last 5 Games
90
How many pitches does Nestor Cortes generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Nestor Cortes generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-22%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-33%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-46%
BAA vs LHP
2021
 
 
-6%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2021vs Left .170 215 68 13 34 8 1 5
Since 2021vs Right .219 1025 257 68 207 44 0 35
2023vs Left .179 41 10 2 7 1 0 2
2023vs Right .268 210 49 16 51 14 0 8
2022vs Left .110 89 33 7 9 1 0 1
2022vs Right .202 526 130 31 99 22 0 15
2021vs Left .228 85 25 4 18 6 1 2
2021vs Right .214 289 78 21 57 8 0 12
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-25%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-12%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-36%
ERA at Home
2021
 
 
-23%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2021Home 2.69 0.96 167.1 9 2 0 9.2 2.3 0.9
Since 2021Away 3.58 1.13 143.1 10 7 0 9.7 2.4 1.4
2023Home 4.86 1.26 33.1 2 0 0 7.8 2.2 1.4
2023Away 5.54 1.35 26.0 3 2 0 10.4 3.8 1.7
2022Home 1.95 0.82 87.2 6 1 0 9.1 2.4 0.5
2022Away 3.06 1.05 70.2 6 3 0 9.4 1.9 1.4
2021Home 2.53 1.01 46.1 1 1 0 10.3 2.3 1.4
2021Away 3.28 1.14 46.2 1 2 0 9.6 2.5 1.4
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Nestor Cortes compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.11
 
K/9
8.9
 
BB/9
2.9
 
HR/9
1.5
 
Fastball
91.6 mph
 
ERA
5.16
 
WHIP
1.30
 
BABIP
.307
 
GB/FB
0.51
 
Left On Base
66.7%
 
Exit Velocity
82.4 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.9%
 
Spin Rate
2300 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
24.6%
 
Swinging Strike
10.4%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2022 Fantasy Outlook
Cortes, when not running around Mushroom Kingdom attempting to avoid Bowser, enjoyed a surprising season for the Yankees. It was his second stint with the club, but this time he worked as a bandaid in the rotation rather than in low-leverage situations. He used a variety of arm angles, timing mechanisms and pitches making the most of his below-average stuff to effectively disrupt the timing of the opposing hitters. He is a throwback to the pitching of 30 years ago when guys relied on location and guile rather than velocity; somehow the league hit .196 off his fastball (.189 xBA!) when the pitch averaged 90.7 mph. Pitching where he does, and in the division he does, leaves Cortes with a thin margin for error, and he's been susceptible to the long ball throughout his career (2.0 HR/9 career rate). Cortes is really only rosterable if he were to secure a starting rotation spot in spring training.
More Fantasy News
Shut down from throwing for 15 days
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
June 6, 2023
Cortes (shoulder) told reporters Tuesday that he will be shut down from throwing for 15 days, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.
ANALYSIS
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Likely heading to injured list
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
June 4, 2023
Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Cortes will likely be placed on the injured list with a shoulder injury, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Surrenders two runs in win
PNew York Yankees
May 31, 2023
Cortes (5-2) allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six over five innings and earning the win over the Mariners on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Hits wall in no-decision
PNew York Yankees
May 25, 2023
Cortes didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 9-6 loss to the Orioles, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over six-plus innings. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Produces quality start
PNew York Yankees
May 18, 2023
Cortes (4-2) earned the win Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk over six innings against the Blue Jays. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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