The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.
Rob Kaminsky | LHP
Background
A local kid out of St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey, Kaminsky threw three no-hitters and three one-hitters as a junior last spring. He allowed just a dozen hits against 103 strikeouts in 53 total innings. He’s committed to North Carolina.
Scouting Report
Kaminsky is a short-ish left-hander with little projection remaining in his 6-foot-0, 190 lb. frame. His fastball sits comfortably in the 89-91 mph range and he runs it up to 93 regularly, though he’s unlikely to add much more oomph given his size. A sharp upper-70s curveball and very advanced (for a prepster) low-80s changeup round out his repertoire. Everything Kaminsky throws plays up because he pitches aggressively to both sides of the plate. He’s very polished with a good idea of how to pitch considering his age and relative lack of pitching experience as cold weather state kid. Here’s some more video.
Miscellany
Baseball America and Keith Law (both subs. req’d) recently ranked Kaminsky as the 26th and 45th best prospect in the draft, respectively. UNC has traditionally been a tough commitment to break, but the Yankees did buy right-hander Bryan Mitchell away from the Tar Heels with an above-slot bonus back in 2009. New Jersey isn’t exactly a baseball hotbed — the Yankees have drafted just five players out of the state since taking Eric Duncan in the first round back in 2003 (Sean Black is the most notable) — though teams are spending more time in the Northeast these days thanks to Mike Trout. Scouting director Damon Oppenheimer loves polished pitchers and Kaminsky certainly qualifies, but he also tends to prefer tall and projectable kids.
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