Kaprielian Begins His Journey
NEW YORK—With their top picks in the 2014 and 2015 drafts, the Yankees selected lefthander Jacob Lindgren and righthander James Kaprielian out of major college programs—but that’s where the similarities end.
Lindgren attended Mississippi State, where he worked as a reliever, when New York made him a second-round pick in 2014. The Yankees invited him to big league spring training in 2015.
Kaprielian, a starter at UCLA whom New York selected 16th overall in 2015, also received a big league invite as he embarked on his first attempt at full-season ball.
Due to the nature of the two pitchers’ roles, however, Kaprielian probably will not reach the majors in his second pro season. That’s what Lindgren did in 2015 when he appeared in seven games with the Yankees before having late-June surgery to remove a bone spur in the left elbow.
“Relievers are different,” general manager Brian Cashman said of Lindgren, who appeared in 15 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2015, where he recorded a 1.23 ERA and fanned 29 in 22 innings against 10 walks. “It’s easier to project innings versus a starter.
“(Starters) have to toe the rubber for six innings every five days.’’
The 22-year-old Kaprielian struck out 14 and walked four in 11 innings last summer, reaching short-season Staten Island. He then shined in the New York-Penn League playoffs by recording an 0.73 ERA in two starts while striking out 10 in 12 innings.
“He dipped his toe in the water, (but) there is not enough information,’’ Cashman said when asked if Kaprielian could surface in the big leagues in 2016.
At this time last year, the Yankees devised a plan that would allow No. 1 prospect Luis Severino to manage his minor league innings so that the righthander could pitch in the big leagues without exceeding his workload ceiling.
YANKEE DOODLES
• The Yankees signed former Phillies righthander Tyler Cloyd to a minor league deal. He pitched for Samsung of the Korean Baseball League.
• Jeff Deardorff, a longtime Yankees area scout in Florida, has been promoted to a new role as a hitting analyst on the amateur side of the scouting department.
Comments are closed.