Is James Kaprielian the next Noah Syndergaard?
"Study the past, if you would divine the future." Why am I quoting Confucius? Because the future rotation of the Yankees is promising, and if we've learned anything from the past few World Series champions, it's that young arms are vital if a team wants to win.
Former UCLA star and Yankees 2015 first round pick James Kaprielian has impressed scouts thus far in his short career. He's been clocked at 97 MPH, and looked impressive in the 2016 spring training campaign. So far in Tampa, the right-handed Kaprielian has wowed the Yankees' brass. In twelve innings of work, he's only allowed one earned run and has struck out 13 batters. Michael Johns, manager of the Charlotte Stone Crabs, has compared the 22 year old to current Mets star Noah Syndergaard after facing him this week. Showing power and composure, both pitchers have the pithes that devastate hitters.
Obviously, we don't want to jump the gun and get too excited. James Kaprielian is still so young and anything can happen, but a comparison to one of the best pitchers in the game is nothing to scoff at.