The Yankees' starting rotation to begin the 2020 season is coming into focus.

Manager Aaron Boone announced on Tuesday that right-handed pitcher Michael King has made the team’s 30-man Opening Day roster, while fellow pitching prospects Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt have been optioned.

Schmidt, who will go to Scranton to continue to work out, could be a candidate to join the big-league roster at a point later this season, per Boone.

The 25-year-old King looked very sharp in his Saturday start against the Mets at Citi Field, allowing one earned run on three hits in 4.0 innings of work, striking out three hitters.

"King has made the team," Boone said. "Obviously, last season got cut short with him when he was going to be in spring training with us, and then this year now being on the roster, he came into spring training and was kind of working through some things, was getting his delivery righted and working on some shapes of pitches and stuff, so didn’t feel like he was in a great place, necessarily, in spring.

"He came into summer camp from a ‘make the club’ standpoint, in a he really needed to show something (standpoint), and I feel like he more than did that. I feel like he’s in a great spot right now. I feel like he’s throwing the ball really well. I feel like he has a chance to really impact our club this year, so excited about that."

King made his major-league debut with the Yankees out of the bullpen last September, but he could find himself starting for the team to begin the season.

With Gerrit Cole and James Paxton expected to start the first two games for the Yankees, King could step in and start the third game for Masahiro Tanaka (concussion), who is scheduled to be back in the rotation on July 31. Boone said Thursday that the third game will be a bullpen game, though it could be King, or Chad Green, or someone else who starts as the opener, depending on what happens the first two games.

Garcia, meanwhile, started against the Phillies on Monday evening but had some struggles on the mound. The No. 3 prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline allowed two runs (one earned) in 1.2 innings, but he also walked two batters, hit Jean Segura with a pitch, and threw just 28 of his 46 pitches for strikes.

"Obviously this is a young guy who had so much success and rocketed through (our system), that clearly still has some development to go, so this will be an important time for him down there to continue to develop, continue to kind of iron out his delivery and his repertoire," Boone explained. "His talent will allow him to get here."

And while Schmidt may not have made the Opening Day roster, he was named the team’s James P. Dawson Award winner, given to the most outstanding Yankees rookie in spring training. The 24-year-old appeared in four spring games (one start), posting a 2.57 ERA with eight strikeouts.

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