Yankees: Profiling The Bottom Tier Of Their Top 30 Prospects

#25  Kyle Holder  SS/2B

Kyle Holder was a first round (30th overall) pick by the Yankees in June 2015 amateur draft. He’s 22 and has a typical build for a middle infielder at 6’1″ 185 lbs.

Holder was named the best defensive shortstop in the minor leagues by MLB Pipeline in January 2017 and is currently in the Yankees Spring Training camp.

But it was the strides he made offensively that caught the attention of Gene Rowson, the Yankees minor league hitting coordinator, who told NJ Advanced Media:

"“He’s starting to learn to stick with a consistent approach,” Rowson said, “and that’s what I would say. It’s confidence and he’s being aggressive in his approach. He’s learned to be approach-oriented, so he doesn’t live and die with every at-bat. He understands that it’s a process. When he has a bad at-bat, he moves on to the next on quicker, and that has a lot to do with him sustaining success.”"

And here’s what scouting director Damon Oppenheimer said about Holder when the Yankees drafted him last year:

"“Holder is about as elite a defender as we’ve seen come through the college ranks,” Oppenheimer said. “He’s got a tremendous glove. He also had a productive year offensively and does not swing and miss.”"

Holder spent most of his time with low-Class A Charleston last season, where his improvement was also noted by MLB.com’s scouting report, albeit a bit more cautious:

"While Holder likely will bat at the bottom of a batting order, he encouraged the Yankees with the changes he was able to implement with low Class A Charleston hitting coach Greg Colbrunn in 2016. He improved his load and took better swings from the left side of the plate. He has ordinary bat speed, however, and rarely drives the ball or draws walks."

Holder’s athleticism is unchallenged, and he was an all-star basketball guard in both high school and college, choosing to pursue a career in baseball just prior to being drafted.