Andy Yerzy Stats & Scouting Report

AB	67
AVG	.194
OBP	.267
SLG	.299
HR	2

Full name Andrew J. Yerzy
Born 07/05/1998 in North York, ON, Canada
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 215 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School York Mills
Drafted in the 2nd round (52nd overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016 (signed for $1,214,100).

View Draft Report

Yerzy homered in last summer's Under Armour All-American Game at Wrigley Field and has shown consistent hitting ability and present power from the left side. He's shown the ability to handle velocity at the plate with Canada's junior national team, playing top competition in trips to Florida and Arizona in the fall and spring. He's a tough profile for the draft in some ways, though, because of his lack of a defensive home. While he's improved behind the plate, he has fringy arm strength and some stiffness in his strong, 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame. Many scouts see him moving to first base, and it may be tough to buy him out of his Notre Dame commitment.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: Yerzy opened the year in extended spring training before heading to short-season Northwest League, where he put together a second consecutive strong year at the plate. But he again left evaluators unsure about where his future lies; few doubt his bat, but no one seems overly confident he can stick at catcher.

Scouting Report: Yerzy has good bat speed, a powerful swing and an advanced approach that's aided by his studious commitment to learning the craft. After he lowered his hands and started using his lower half more, he began driving balls more consistently. Coaches say he might have finished with twice as many homers if Hillsboro were more hitter-friendly. Yerzy continues to improve defensively but has a ways to go to become a consistent, average receiver and thrower, and it appears the bat is developing much faster than his defense. He started eight games at first base in Hillsboro and played the position exclusively in instructional league, though the organization says he's still being viewed as a catcher.

The Future: The club likely will continue to give Yerzy every chance to catch because of the value he would provide there, but if the bat continues its trajectory first base could make more sense.
Yerzy settled in during his second pro season and put together some of the more impressive offensive numbers in the system in 2017. The power bat the D-backs envisioned out of the draft began to emerge, as Yerzy began driving balls to the opposite field and also began to tap into more power to his pull side, as well. By the end of the 2017 season, Yerzy controlled the zone and put together quality at-bats as well as anyone at Rookie-level Missoula. Questions still remain on the other side of the ball, however. Yerzy's receiving skills improved behind the plate but he still struggled at times on pitches with late life. His transfer is sound and his throws are mostly accurate, but his pop times on throws to second base were still below-average. His large 6-foot-3 frame will always pose a challenge when it comes to throwing, but scouts have concerns about his overall athleticism, as well. Still, Yerzy has made strides defensively and could continue to do so given how little experience he had catching high-caliber pitchers as an amateur. Yerzy does not run well, leading some to believe he's a catcher or bust in terms of a long-term position. Others see a potentially special bat that could play at first base or as a DH––if traded to an American League club--if his catching doesn't continue to improve.
The Diamondbacks went for a high school power bat in the second round in 2016, signing Yerzy for $1,214,100 to keep the Canadian high school product from honoring his commitment to Notre Dame. Coming into the draft, Yerzy was regarded as a bat-first catcher with questions about his ability to stay behind the plate because of a slow, stiff body and a fringy arm. He is intelligent with great makeup, and he made good progress at 2016 instructional league, where D-backs coaches worked on Yerzy's defensive technique to try to mold him into an average defender. His fringe-average arm is accurate but his arm action gets long at times. Yerzy had a rough pro debut at the plate, batting just .216/.240/.265 at two Rookie-level stops. He has a calm approach from the left side and started using his legs better at instructs. Yerzy projects to be an above-average hitter with power, but it won't come quickly. He is considered a long-term project who will spend the 2017 season in a short-season league, perhaps short-season Hillsboro.

Draft Prospects

Yerzy homered in last summer's Under Armour All-American Game at Wrigley Field and has shown consistent hitting ability and present power from the left side. He's shown the ability to handle velocity at the plate with Canada's junior national team, playing top competition in trips to Florida and Arizona in the fall and spring. He's a tough profile for the draft in some ways, though, because of his lack of a defensive home. While he's improved behind the plate, he has fringy arm strength and some stiffness in his strong, 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame. Many scouts see him moving to first base, and it may be tough to buy him out of his Notre Dame commitment.

Minor League Top Prospects

It's been a slow burn for Yerzy, who has advanced one level a year since Arizona drafted him in the second round in 2016. He was one of the youngest players in that draft class, so his slow pace hasn't hindered him all that much. He put up respectable numbers in each of his first two seasons, but he started hitting the ball in the air much more often in 2018. Beyond his batted-ball profile, Yerzy started hitting the ball hard this season. His exit velocity was among the team leaders, and his .834 OPS was 10th in the NWL. To accomplish this, the Diamondbacks worked with Yerzy to get the bat into the zone earlier and stay there longer. They also helped him incorporate his lower half into his swing a little better, and he made strides with his pitch recognition. He's lauded by the organization as a studious player with a photographic memory who works hard with his pitching staff to develop plans of attack. He got better defensively this season, but there's still a long way to go to keep him as a catcher for the long-term. He's got an average arm strength, but is a below-average receiver and dabbled at first base this year. He'll get his first crack at full-season ball in 2019.
Yerzy showed signs of developing into the power bat the Diamondbacks envisioned. While Missoula's home park is favorable to lefthanded hitters, his progress is real. This year Yerzy started trusting in himself, allowing his natural swing and whip to come through. His hands got looser and he used his legs better, getting more fluidity in his swing. He's still got some holes in the swing, but he dropped his strikeout rate from 22 percent in 2016 to 18 percent this year. Yerzy is still a work in progress behind the plate. He has the necessary aptitude and arm strength but needs plenty of reps to improve his receiving. A positive sign is that he threw out nearly 30 percent of basestealers. Missoula manager Mike Benjamin noted that Yerzy progressed during the season after making mechanical changes. "He needed to be trusting that he has the fundamentals down," Benjamin said, "and let the athleticism come out."