Good news for Yankee fans on Wednesday, as the Pinstripes have signed their first-round pick, James Kaprielian, of UCLA.

Also, there is this report on Kaprielian from our friends at Pinstripe Alley, that came out right after the draft:

The 6'4", 200-pound junior pitched in relief for the Bruins back in 2013 during their national championship run as a freshman before going on to become UCLA's ace. Kaprielian has shown improved velocity with a fastball that can hit 95 mph and sits between 89-92 mph. Jim Callis profiled Kaprielian as a #3 starter and thinks he has a chance to make it to the Bronx fairly quickly. He was compared to Michael Wacha, but that is to be taken with a very obvious grain of salt.

Kaprielian sports an above-average curveball that he uses as his out pitch with an average changeup. He has been good at putting batters away when ahead in the count, and has experimented a bit with a slider as a fourth pitch. He was ranked 19th in the country coming into the draft. 

Kaprielian could head to the Gulf Coast League, or perhaps the Staten Island Yankees of the New York-Penn League.

 

 

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