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Yankees News: Jacob Lindgren Ready For A Strong 2015 Campaign

By Scott Alfano

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The New York Yankees have been known for their free agent pickups rather than their homegrown talent for the better part of the last decade. Players like Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Robinson Cano are all gone – either through retirement or free agency. With the exception of Cano, each player was drafted in the 90s.

Rather than strong draft picks, the Yankees have signed free agents like Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Mark Teixeira. While a lot of the free agents brought in have been productive, they have been expensive and are hurting the flexibility of the team. In the last few seasons, the Yankees have started to use the draft to bolster the future of the team. The best example of this from 2014 is relief pitcher Jacob Lindgren.

The Yankees drafted Lindgren in the second round of the 2014 draft. While he may not have the longevity a team expects of a first or second round pick, Lindgren was one of the most major league ready players in the draft and many stated so when he went to the Bronx Bombers.

Sure enough, after being drafted Lindgren was sent to the Gulf Coast league where he struck out 2 batters in 1.0 innings. He followed that up by striking out 11 batters in 5.0 innings in A ball. Then he struk out 17 more batters in just 7.1 advanced A ball. He finished his rookie season by striking out 18 batters in 11.1 innings with AA Trenton. In total, Lindgren struck out 48 batters in 24.2 innings of work.

Lindgren was an absolute monster in 2014 and received a 2015 spring training invite from the Yankees for his troubles. He is remaining humble in his quick journey, but even he must know that he could be called up to the big league squad before the conclusion of the 2015 season.

The Yankees acquired lefty relievers Andrew Miller and Justin Wilson this off-season, but there is no reason Lindgren couldn’t also be in the bigs, giving the Yankees one of the best left handed reliever sets in baseball.

Lindgren was recently interviewed at the Yankees minor league complex and stated, “Just to get the opportunity to learn from older guys and see how my stuff plays against those kinds of hitters [will help]…I’ll try to learn things from different players and just try to improve my game. All I can do is play the game hard and respect the game and maybe it will respect me back.”

Lindgren is saying all the right things while he gets ready for a new season. While a lot of fans are awaiting the arrival of minor league players like Rob Refsnyder, Aaron Judge, and Ian Clarkin, Lindgren may beat them all to the Bronx. If he can show that he can adjust to big league hitting in March, Yankees fans may see him before the calendar turns to summer.

Next: Quiet Yankees Off-Season?

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