Yankees James Kaprielian Another Possibility for Arizona Fall League

There is a chance that New York Yankees 2015 first rounder James Kaprielian could be ready to pitch in the Arizona Fall League after missing most of the season with an elbow injury.

James Kaprielian came into the 2016 season as the New York Yankees top pitching prospect after being selected 16th overall in the June amateur draft the previous year, the organization’s highest pick in more than two decades.

He showed what all the fuss was about through his first three starts with the High-A Tampa Yankees, striking out 22 while allowing just three walks and three earned runs in 18 innings of work. His velocity was regularly in the upper-90’s, after working mostly in the 88-92 range in college.

The most optimistic Yankees fans (myself included) saw Kaprielian as a possible rotation option for the big league club in the second half of this year. He had received an invite to major league spring training, which is nearly unheard of for guys in the year after they are drafted historically.

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Kap has four plus pitches, excellent control, and the poise that comes from pitching in a top college program. As a freshman he helped UCLA win the College World Series, so he is no stranger to high-pressure situations.

Young pitchers will break your heart every time, however. Kaprielian was shut down in April with elbow inflammation and placed on the minor league disabled list with no timetable given for his return.

He began throwing again in June, but never made it back to a mound because he was still feeling discomfort in his right elbow. An MRI revealed a flexor tendon strain in his right elbow, which more or less ended any chance he would pitch in the minor league regular season this year.

Any elbow issue is always going to bring up fears of Tommy John surgery, but for the moment Kaprielian appears to be avoiding the worst case scenario. 

Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media recently reported that Kaprielian is rehabbing the injury in Tampa and is on a throwing program. Intriguingly, Miller also notes that the club is considering sending Kaprielian to the Arizona Fall League in October to get some game action, but they don’t want to push him if there’s any chance of aggravating the injury.

On Wednesday, Josh Norris of Baseball America revealed that the Yankees would be sending Greg Bird, Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres, and Tyler Wade as their position player representatives to the Fall League. Notably, New York hasn’t decided which pitchers, which suggests they may be waiting to see how Kap progresses over the next month.

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Like Kaprielian, Bird has missed the entire 2016 campaign due to injury. Both are among the organization’s most exciting young players, so it will be fun to finally see them in action this year if everything goes well.