Triple-A has been a more challenging learning curve for Yankees righthander Jaron Long than his previous minor league performance would have suggested.
Long, a brilliant control artist with a career 4.1 strikeout to walk ratio, posted a 2.18 ERA in 28 games (18 starts) in 2014, maxing out at Double-A and often outshining top pitching prospect Luis Severino.
Long, the son of former Yankees and current Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, started the 2015 season with a promotion to Triple-A and gave up five runs or more in three of his first five outings. He's settled down quite a bit since, but there has been the occasional blip, including a four-run, 11-hit outing in 3 2/3 innings on May 30.