New York Yankees Prospect Profile: Number 20 Jordan Montgomery

As we continue our Yanks Go Yard Prospect Profile Series, we move down the pipeline to 20th-ranked prospect Jordan Montgomery.

Scouting grades: (Courtesy of MLB Pipeline) Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

After going 5-0 with an insane 0.93 ERA in five NCAA tournament starts as the South Carolina Gamecocks ace during his sophomore and junior season, the New York Yankees drafted southpaw Jordan Montgomery in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft.

Over the course of just two seasons down in the minors, the left-hander pitched his way all up to the Class A Advanced Tampa Yankees, where he finished the season with a 2.53 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 32 innings of work. When all was said and done, Montgomery led the entire Yankees minor league system with 132 strikeouts and posted the seventh-lowest ERA in the organization after 2o15.

Montgomery’s fastball sits in the 82-92 mph range with a natural sinking motion, and he even touched 94 mph on the radar gun (per MLB pipeline) in late August. Interestingly enough, his best pitch is a deceiving changeup which he uses as his put-away pitch. The 23-year olds arsenal also includes a cutter and a curve, but he’s needs to do a better job commanding both pitches as he continues to develop down in the minors.

Though he only has 134.1 minor league innings under his belt, some scouts consider him a safe bet to become a back-end starter by the 2017 season, but if his fastball continues to gain velocity, he could turn out to be a gem.

Next: Michael Pineda Keeps Rolling

Hopefully 2016 will be another breakout season for Montgomery down in the minors.