51s pitcher Gabriel Ynoa elevating his game this season

Gabriel Ynoa is just 22.

But watch him on the mound, and it’s not too hard to see why sometimes people forget that.

“The kid throws 94. He’s got a swing-and-miss changeup. He’s got a decent breaking ball, but maturity wise, he’s way elevated,” 51s manager Wally Backman said. “Everything about him.”

The 51s starter will take the ball for the fifth time this season Monday against El Paso looking for his second win.

In his first four games, he has tossed three straight quality starts and hasn’t given up more than two runs or five hits in any game, good for a 1.48 ERA and 0.986 WHIP.

And, unsurprisingly, Backman likes what he’s seen — and not just in the numbers.

“I see the way that he handles himself on the mound, his mannerisms, he never panics when something happens on the field,” Backman said. “He really knows. The game’s not speeding up on him.”

Backman’s familiarity with him goes back to spring training, but pitching coach Frank Viola has a lengthier history with Ynoa, coaching him in 2013 at Class-A Savannah, where he went 15-4 with a 2.72 ERA.

He called Ynoa’s maturity “off the charts,” citing the young righty’s move from the Dominican Republic as a teenager who didn’t speak English and his subsequent development.

“He was just feeling his way around,” Viola said. “This kid, you talk to him now, he knows the English language and he’s gone above and beyond to get himself to feel acclimated and comfortable.”

And that’s helped translate into results.

“I’ve seen him at his best and I know what he’s capable of doing and he’s come out here and he’s done exactly what we were hoping he would do, and that’s just pound the strike zone and get ahead of hitters and put the ball in play,” Viola said.

Both Viola and Ynoa said the addition of a two-seam fastball has helped elevate him this season.

Viola said Ynoa hit a little bit of a wall in at Double-A Binghamton, where he posted a 4.23 ERA in 11 games in 2014 and a 3.90 ERA in 25 games last season.

But this offseason, Viola said Ynoa started mixing in the two-seamer in preparation for spring training.

Now, he’s throwing it about 60-40 compared to his four-seam fastball, and Viola said he’d like to see it even more.

Ynoa said through Yady Mufdi that he’s been trying to use his pitches more effectively, especially using his two-seamer lower in the zone inside and out.

So far, it’s been working.

“When it runs down in the zone, he’s getting a lot of groundballs, and as you’re witnessing here, his groundball ratio is so much better than it has been the last couple years,” Viola said.

Ynoa’s groundball percentage is at 47 percent through his first four games. In past years, it’s hovered around 40.

“His command is so good that if you do throw the four-seam … maybe 93-94 and all of a sudden you’re throwing a 89-91 mile per hour two-seam fastball, it’ll be just enough to get the hitters off balance so they don’t barrel it up,” Viola said.

More often, Ynoa has been lauded for his changeup.

Viola said the changeup was, on average, 8-10 mph slower than his fastball.

“He’s got similar movement between his changeup and his two-seam fastball,” Viola said. “It just needs to get a little bit more contrast, but that’s all part of the experience and learning.”

After all, he is still 22.

“He’s taking each step at a time, each level at a time and learning from each one,” Viola said. “I think if New York has a problem with somebody, he’s ready to go up there and help them.”

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand