New York Yankees: Tommy Kahnle Still Pitching 10 Years After Being Drafted

Yankees Tommy Kahnle key part of bullpen 10 years after 2010 draft.

With the 2020 Major League Baseball first-year draft set for Wednesday night, the New York Yankees have the 28th selection in the first round. Due to the coronavirus pandemic that shutdown MLB in the middle of Spring Training in March, the league has decided to cut the draft down to just five rounds from the usual 40.

Ten years ago in 2010, the Yankees made 16 selections during the annual draft. Of those picks, one is still standing tall in 2020 and plays a big role in a deep Yankees bullpen. Tommy Kahlne was selected 175th overall in the 15th round out of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. He became the first player from Lynn to be picked in the MLB draft.

Kahnle spent his first three years in the Yankees organization in the minors before the Colorado Rockies selected him in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. He spent two years with the Rockies and then a year and a half with the Chicago White Sox before Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was able to land Kahnle again.

Kahnle, Todd Frazier and David Robertson were sent to the Yankees for Blake Rutherford, Tyler Clippard, Ian Clarkin and Tito Polo. In the 2017 postseason, Kahnle appeared in seven games. In the Wild Card Game against the Minnesota Twins he worked 2.1 scoreless innings and two appearances in the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians he didn’t allow a run. He was roughed up in the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros giving up six hits and three earned runs.

After a tough 2018 that saw him have a whopping 6.56 ERA in 24 games, he spent a majority of the year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in Triple-A.

Last season Kahnle did a big turn around from the previous season. In 72 appearances, he had a 3.76 ERA in 61.1 innings pitched with 88 strikeouts. He gave up 27 runs and 45 hits. His best month was in July when he had a 0.79 ERA in 12 games. He allowed one run, five hits, walked two and struck out 17.

If MLB and the players association came come to an agreement to get the 2020 season underway, Kahnle will be a key piece out of the Yankees bullpen. After not breaking in with the Yankees in his first time in Pinstripes, he is making up for it his second stint, 10 years after hearing his name called during the draft.