Jeff Degano Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Jeffrey Degano
Born 10/30/1992 in Surrey, BC, Canada
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 215 / Bats: R / Throws: L
School Indiana State
Drafted in the 2nd round (57th overall) by the New York Yankees in 2015 (signed for $650,000).

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Heading into 2015, Indiana State's coaching staff would have been happy if Degano merely earned a spot in the weekend rotation. The Sycamores admit that even they didn't see him turning into one of the most dominating starters in college baseball this year. The British Columbia-native had missed almost all of 2013 and all of the 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. In fall ball he showed no signs of ace potential except for the fact that his velocity had ticked back up into the low 90s. But from day one this spring, Degano has dominated thanks to a 90-94 mph fastball and a plus 78-82 mph slurve with good depth. He's shown he can vary the shape of the breaking ball to make it a little bigger and slower or harder and later-breaking depending on the situation which has led to 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings (seventh-best in Division I). Degano also throws a fringy changeup, but he's used it infrequently this season. His fastball is relatively straight, which could lead a team to consider making him a power reliever, but he'll likely head out as a starter and if he can develop his changeup, he has the makings of a lefthanded starter who can miss bats.

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The Yankees took Degano with their third selection of the 2015 draft--in the second round--and signed him for $650,000. Degano missed nearly two full seasons at Indiana State while recovering from Tommy John surgery, then dominated as the Sycamores' ace. He's a three-pitch starter, with the primary offerings being a low- to mid-90s fastball that he commands well in on righthanded batters and a 78-82 mph curveball he uses as an out pitch. His changeup is a work in progress at this point and was fringy and seldom-used in college. Degano was monitored carefully after tossing 99 innings after his return from surgery. The Yankees remain starved for lefthanded starters and see him as one who can miss plenty of bats. He'll head to either low Class A Charleston or high Class A Tampa in 2016.

Heading into 2015, Indiana State's coaching staff would have been happy if Degano merely earned a spot in the weekend rotation. The Sycamores admit that even they didn't see him turning into one of the most dominating starters in college baseball this year. The British Columbia-native had missed almost all of 2013 and all of the 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. In fall ball he showed no signs of ace potential except for the fact that his velocity had ticked back up into the low 90s. But from day one this spring, Degano has dominated thanks to a 90-94 mph fastball and a plus 78-82 mph slurve with good depth. He's shown he can vary the shape of the breaking ball to make it a little bigger and slower or harder and later-breaking depending on the situation which has led to 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings (seventh-best in Division I). Degano also throws a fringy changeup, but he's used it infrequently this season. His fastball is relatively straight, which could lead a team to consider making him a power reliever, but he'll likely head out as a starter and if he can develop his changeup, he has the makings of a lefthanded starter who can miss bats.