NEW YORK — With the moves the Yankees made at the trade deadline last summer, slicing a chunk of their pitching talent at the upper levels of their minorleague system, it was only a matter of time until Randy Vásquez had his opportunity in pinstripes.

Purely from a standpoint of organizational depth, Vásquez was the next starter up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes- Barre when both Clarke Schmidt and Jhony Brito began the year in the big leagues, holding down the back end of an injury-ravaged rotation.

That chance finally arrived late last month and in his first two big-league starts, Vásquez — the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect, per MLB Pipeline — has looked every bit like an MLB starting pitcher, a right-hander that could factor into this rotation consistently in the future.

After shutting the Padres down on May 26, allowing only two runs (on a Juan Soto homer), Vásquez earned his first MLB win on Thursday, twirling the first 5 2/3 innings of a two-hit shutout against the White Sox.

Between those two outings, Vásquez has a 1.74 ERA. He’s struck out nine batters in 10 1/3 innings with an 0.97 WHIP. It’s a tiny sample size, of course, but the dominance speaks for itself.

“He just looks like he’s having fun out there,” Yankees reliever Ron Marinaccio said after the 2-0 win. “He’s competing. He’s not scared. You saw that in his first outing against the Padres. Probably a bunch of his idols growing up on that team, a bunch of big superstars and he didn’t back down. He comes back up here again, does the same thing.”

Vásquez walked the leadoff man on Thursday night, allowing a two-out single later in the first inning. He proceeded to retire the next 15 batters he faced, pitching into the sixth inning. That was a relief for manager Aaron Boone, who had a limited bullpen at his disposal after using a few arms in Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader.

“That was awesome,” said outfielder Billy McKinney, who played behind Vásquez in Triple-A during the first two months of the season. “He was getting ahead early, throwing strikes with all his pitches. It was pretty fun to watch, especially just seeing him down in Scranton, how hard he’s worked.

“I’m a big Randy Vásquez fan, that’s for sure.”

Vásquez was the Yankees’ 27th man in Thursday’s doubleheader, so it’s no surprise that he was sent back to Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre after the game. In fact, with four more off days in June, the Yankees may not need a fifth starter for a while, rolling with a four-man rotation after Nestor Cortes’ trip to the injured list.

Still, with Cortes out and Carlos Rodón a month away from making his debut, the Yankees will need starters eventually. Vásquez has positioned himself at the top of that list.

“I think between him and Jhony, they’ve shown us enough that we know we can go down there and in a spot they’re capable of coming up here and having success,” Boone said. “[Tonight is] only going to bolster his confidence, hopefully continue to bolster his development and we’ll just see as we go.”

The biggest hurdle for Vásquez will be making adjustments. His stuff has been electric, he’s been inducing weak contact and mixing his different pitches effectively, but Brito was just as effective over his first few starts. With more outings, comes more film and big-league hitters can pick up on trends, turning a hot start into an abrupt reality check.

Brito trailed off and after beginning the season with an 0.90 ERA, he was optioned to Triple-A in May with a 5.58 ERA.

Vásquez said he’s focused on his routine between starts, honing in on his command and making sure to hold his head high, no matter the results, when he’s in pinstripes.

Those results have been spectacular so far, better than he could’ve imagined.

“It’s surprising,” he said through Yankees interpreter Marlon Abreu. “A lot of work throughout my baseball career to get to this point, so I’m happy.”