How High are the Yankees Expectations for James Kaprielian?

When the New York Yankees drafted James Kaprielian out of UCLA with the 16th overall pick last June, his bar was set incredibly high. 

Not only was the 6’4″ right hander selected with the organizations highest draft pick since 1993, but he was also put on the fast track to reach the major leagues and contribute to the Yankees sooner rather than later.

So just how high are the Yankees expectations for him?

Well, the 21-year old James Kapirelian was the second youngest player invited to Yankees Spring Training behind the 20-year old shortstop of the future Jorge Mateo.

Feb 19, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees pitcher James Kaprielian (90) throws a bullpen session at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo had nothing but praise for Kaprielian when he spoke to Brendan Kuty of NJ Advanced Media on Monday.

"“He’s shown some leadership ability among the players,” Denbo, said. “He’s been a big part of things here [in Captains Camp] and he’s another guy we think that, over the long term, has an excellent chance to be part of our major league rotation.”"

The Yankees got an early glimpse at Kaprielian right after he was drafted in 2015 when he posted a 3.97 ERA with 14 strikeouts in five games started between the Staten Island Yankees and the Gulf Coast Yankees.

Denbo also talked about the right-handers delivery and pitch selection and added that it will only get better as he progresses through the minors.

"“He’s shown the ability to locate his fastball,” Denbo said. “His breaking ball has the chance to be a plus pitch for him. The changeup also has improved the more he’s pitched and will as he develops. He’s shown improvement in velocity in the course of last season.”"

ESPN Senior Baseball Writer Keith Law recently released his 2016 New York Yankees Top 10 Prospects list, and he has Kaprielian rated the fourth-best prospect in the Yankees system, and the organizations top overall pitching prospect behind RF Aaron Judge, SS Jorge Mateo and C Gary Sanchez respectively.

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MLB Pipeline has James Kaprielian ranked third in the Yankees system while Baseball America has him ranked fourth.

Though the Yankees tend to overhype some of their top prospects, if Kaprielian is even half as good as advertised, the Yankees may have found their future no.2 or no.3 starter to slot in behind Luis Severino moving forward.