Yankees sign first round pick James Kaprielian

The Yankees have officially announced the signing of their first round draft pick in the 2015 amateur draft James Kaprielian from the University of Los Angeles, California, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com.

1st-rder James Kaprielian, @Yankees agree to $2.65 mil bonus, pending physical. Slot at 16 = $2,543,300. @MLBDraft

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 15, 2015

Kaprielian was the Yankees first overall choice in the 2015 draft and New York had until Friday to sign him. The right-hander signed today to a $2.65 million signing bonus, pending a physical. This was the earliest selection the Yankees have made since 1993. They drafted Kaprielian with the number 16 pick. The California native is six feet four inches and 200 pounds, the type of pitcher the Yankees covet. He finished his career at UCLA with the fifth lowest earned run average in program history along with the sixth most strikeouts. In his final season at UCLA, Kaprielian went 10-4 with a 2.03 ERA in 17 games leading the Pac-12 with 114 strikeouts in 106.2 innings. New York paid a little above slot money to sign Kaprielian. They paid about $100,000 more to sign the Scott Boras client. With Kaprielian the Yankees add another big pitcher to hopefully aid their future. The Bronx Bombers have now signed nine out of their top 10 draft picks.