Last season marked the beginning of a new era of Yankees baseball. Not only did Derek Jeter retire, they also emphasized young players. They’ve talked about doing that in the past but never followed through with it. Last year they did. The Yankees traded for young players and they called up prospects whenever a roster spot needed to be filled. It was refreshing.
The Yankees doubled down on the young player strategy this offseason. They traded for 20-somethings Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks (and Aroldis Chapman), they’re giving Luis Severino a full-time rotation spot, and chances are Gary Sanchez will spend the bulk of the season as the backup catcher. The Yankees could have easily signed a free agent or two to plug roster holes. They instead showed uncharacteristic restraint.
The next wave of prospects this summer will include Sanchez, maybe Aaron Judge, and surely a ton of relievers. It’s also been speculated (by me, mostly) the Yankees could turn to 2015 first round pick James Kaprielian at some point should they need rotation help. The Yankees invited Kaprielian to Spring Training, which is not insignificant. They haven’t invited a first rounder to big league camp in his first full season in a long time. They want to see him up close.
“Physically, he’s very gifted,” said farm system head Gary Denbo to Bryan Hoch. “I think he’s a guy that could probably step off the mound and go play some other positions. He’s that kind of an athlete. We’ll see how he’s able to develop and gain experience, but I think this camp is going to be very valuable for him. We hope that he develops quickly and he’s able to help us in the rotation as soon as possible.”
There is precedent for the Yankees pushing a pitcher to the big leagues within a year of the draft. They did it last year with Jacob Lindgren, though that was a special case because he’s a reliever. They did it back in 2007 … twice. Joba Chamberlain made 15 starts in the minors and was in the show by mid-August as a reliever. Ian Kennedy made 25 starts in the minors before joining New York’s rotation in September. Both were 2006 draftees.
Bringing pitchers to the show the season after the draft was still pretty rare back then. Now it’s becoming a bit more common. Since Joba and Kennedy in 2007, other pitchers like Aaron Nola, Carlos Rodon, Brandon Finnegan, Chris Sale, Trevor Bauer, Mike Leake, and David Price all reached the big leagues the year after being drafted. All but Bauer had instant success too. Teams aren’t just letting these guys get their feet wet. They’re counting on them to help.
“Hopefully James could be one of those guys,” said Brian Cashman to Brendan Kuty when asked about Kaprielian possibly following the 2007 Joba/Kennedy path in 2016. “Listen, if somebody is better down (in the minors) than anything we have up here, then we will expedite the process … You can’t ever deny anybody that has the ability to impact and help you win games now.”
Kaprielian, 22 in March, absolutely needs time in the minors to refine his game. He has an impressive four-pitch arsenal — his four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup all rate as average or better — and he throws strikes with everything, which is a pretty great recipe for a quick moving starter. Kaprielian is used to pressure; he helped UCLA win a College World Series title and he’s been the ace of a major college program. Granted, that’s nothing compared to the pressure he’ll face in pinstripes, but it’s not insignificant either.
“It’s exciting, but at the same time, I just want to take it day to day,” said Kaprielian to Hoch when asked about rubbing elbows with big leaguers in Spring Training. “One of the biggest things that I believe is you can’t look too far ahead. I’m just trying to be present every single day. If I’m able to do that, I think I’m going to put myself in a good opportunity for the future just by being present now and working for now.”
The Yankees have quite a bit of injury risk in their rotation. We all know that. There’s a reason they traded Justin Wilson for two Triple-A starters. They needed the inventory. Kaprielian’s situation is different than Luis Cessa’s and Chad Green’s, however. Cessa and Green are candidates to come up and fill-in whenever the Yankees need a spot starter or a rotation stopgap. They’re not long-term building blocks — maybe they become one, but that’s not the plan — they’re depth.
Kaprielian should not be brought up under those circumstances and I don’t think he will. If the Yankees do bring him up this coming season, it’ll be because he’s big league ready and because he has a chance to make an impact. That’s exactly what they did with Luis Severino last season. He was big league ready — I didn’t think he was, so that shows what I know — and he was someone who could actually help the Yankees win, so they called him up. It was perfect.
That’s the path we want Kaprielian to follow. We — and by we I mean fans and the Yankees themselves — want Kaprielian to shove in the minors, leave no doubt he’s prepared for the highest level, then come up and contribute to a contending club. And you know what? That might not happen. Expectations might be a little too high right now. (I’ll take the blame for that.) Kaprielian could struggle, he could get hurt (pitchers are known to do that) … any number of things could happen.
Regardless of what happens this year, the Yankees are again going to rely on their farm system this summer, and Kaprielian has a chance to be part of that equation, even if it’s only very late in the season to make some spot starts. He has the ability to join pitchers like Nola and Rodon by reaching the big leagues the year after being drafted. He’s certainly in an organization that figures to need arms. It’s a good situation for him. And if the Yankees get help from Kaprielian this year, then it’s a great situation for them.
“Obviously, I’m not fighting for a spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation right now, but in the future, hopefully,” Kaprielian said to Hoch. “I want to continue to get better, and I think that’s a big thing for me, just trying to get better every day and get that opportunity.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.