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An unearthed pitching prospect shows a Yankees advantage over Mets

The scout came up to Tim Naehring, and the Yankees vice president of baseball operations dismissed him.

This was in the stands behind Field 1 at the Yankees’ Tampa-based minor league complex. The Instructional League was ongoing last September, and Naehring had circled back for many reasons, but front and center was to get another view of Jonathan Loaisiga and provide input whether the righty was worth a 40-man roster spot.

Naehring saw high-90s octane, strike-throwing repetition and quality potential with both a changeup and power curve. He also saw something else — 12 scouts watching the same thing.