Yankees Open Up Saturday Draft With 3 Pitchers, 2 First Basemen

Former West Virigina hurler Sean Carley. Mandatory Credit: wvusports.com

The Yankees seem to continue their pattern from yesterday of selecting pitchers by opening up the first round of today’s draft with selecting RHP Matthew Borens from Eastern Illinois University. Last season, Borens made 16 appearances with 13 of them being starts. He posted a 4-4 record, with a 4.30 ERA. He held opposing hitters to a .271 batting average, the ninth best in the conference. Borens also led the team in strikeouts, with 65.

1B Chris Gittens was drafted by the Yankees in the 12th round, the #362 overall pick from Grayson County College. Gittens was recently listed as the No. 9 Junior College baseball prospect in the country by PerfectGame.org. His current stats display that in 41 games this year, he is hitting .404 with 3 home runs, 42 RBI and 31 runs scored. The Yankees could definitely use his powerful offense.

The 13th round belongs to another first basemen, Bo Thompson from The Citadel. In his first collegiate season, Thompson played in 57 of 58 games and recorded a batting average of .261 with 5 doubles, 3 home runs, 14 runs scored and 28 RBI.

The team then drafted RHP Sean Carley in the 14th round, the #422 overall pick from West Virginia University. Due to the NCAA transfer rules, Carley had to sit out during the 2013 season. During his final campaign in Morgantown, Carley finished with a 5-3 record, an ERA of 2.95, and 47 Ks in 73 1/3 innings pitched. He also put up some great numbers when he attended the Air Force Academy from 2010-2011. He posted a 3.94 ERA, marking the lowest at Air Force since 1983. Carley started all 12 games in which he pitched, leading the team with 3 wins and 62 strikeouts in 82.1 innings.

The Yankees went back to the pitching well once again. The Yankees went with LHP Andrew Chin in the 15th round from Boston College. Chin had to take a year off during 2012 due to Tommy John Surgery. During his freshman year in 2013, Chin started in 13 games and finished the season with a 1-8 record and 3.88 ERA. He led the team in strikeouts (45) and held opposing batters to a .255 average. He also led the pitching staff with 5 successful pick-offs.