Yankees Top Pick James Kaprielian Has An Angel On His Shoulder

Like all prospects, New York Yankees number one draft choice pitcher James Kaprielian comes to spring training looking to impress the Yankees brass, but he has someone much more important to play for.

“We were in the hospital for a while and I told my dad, ‘I don’t think I should be going out and playing for Team USA; I need to be with the family, Kaprielian said, according to The Daily News. This is an important time for us and I need to be here. My mom had overheard me at some point, so she called me over one of the next few days and said, ‘You’re going to go play for Team USA. This was one of your goals; we set this goal last year for you when you told me you wanted to do this last year at this time.’ I was like, ‘All right, Mom, whatever you say.’ I ended up doing it.”

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His mother Barbara was not about to let her battle with cancer interfere with her son’s dreams. She was intent on being his inspiration and his number one supporter, but there was no way that she was going to be a burden to slow him down.

So just 18 days after her death, he honored her wishes and joined his Team USA teammates against Chinese Taipei. After allowing a lead off double, it looked like the emotion may have overwhelmed him. A feeling no one could have blamed him under the circumstances.

But then he settled in. Seemingly possessed with determination, he mowed down one batter after another. Fifteen straight in all-including 12 strike outs. He hurled six shutout innings as Team USA came away with the win. “That day, when I came off the mound, the whole team came up to me because they knew what I was going through and they knew that day was hard for me,” Kaprielian said, according to The Daily News. “I felt relieved that I was able to go out there and help our team. That one was for my mom. I felt like she was out there with me on every pitch.”

The Yankees have high hopes that his exploding fastball and impeccable control will result in making him an eventual top of the rotation starter. Gary Denbo, the Yankees vice president of player development, is confident that Kaprielian has both the physical tools and the mental toughness to get there.

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“You never would have known that he was going through that type of personal tragedy in his life,” Denbo said, according to The Daily News.. “He was very focused. He has a lot of the qualities of not only the great players that I’ve worked with over the years, but of the great people that I’ve been around. I always attribute that to how he grew up and the job his parents did raising him.”

There will certainly be ups and downs. But Kaprielian is ready for the challenge. “People talk about having a focal point to go to when they needed to slow down the game,” Kaprielian said according to The Daily News. “For some people it’s the scoreboard or the foul pole; my focal point would be where my mom was. I would catch my breath, see my mom and go back to work. When I would see her, I know her fight and what she did. She fought for 14 years. When I see where she was, I don’t know what it does for me, but it turns things around. I just jump back on the mound and I know I can go back out there and compete.”

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