WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT JAMES KAPRIELIAN

Photo: New York Daily News

As I sit here right now, reading articles about my New York Yankees, I can only come up with one conclusion; I love what the future looks like in the Bronx.

Now I know Dan Lucia is doing a tremendous series on BYB about our future prospects and it's really great.  But I'd like to offer a nugget about James Kaprielian that not too many people know about.

I read this article on him the other day and I really love this kid's attitude and determination. Here's NJ.com:

Photo: MiLB.com

"The 6-foot-4 righty wants to be CC Sabathia circa 2009, or make like Andy Pettitte during the Yankees' run of four World Series championships from 1996-2000.

His quest isn't to get to the big leagues and be a good pitcher for a long time.
This young man who grew up in Southern California rooting for the Yankees wants to be their next great starting pitcher."

Believe and you shall conquer, James! I really like this kid and I think he has what it takes to make it. I mean 18 days after the death of his mother he pitched one of the best games in Team USA history!  That's right, this guy lost his mom while in school, and he's made it his focus to keep pushing forward!

Photo Credit: Shotgun Spartling

In college, James pitched 9 innings of a 10 inning no-hitter. The first in the history of UCLA baseball. Here is another article I found about him. You can read about that HERE, but here's alittle from that New York Daily News piece:

"Success on the field had positioned Kaprielian as one of the top college pitchers in the game - and eventually made him the Yankees’ top pick in the 2015 draft - but he was dealing with more adversity than most kids his age are forced to handle.

His mother was dying."

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kaprielian is far more mature for his age than some. When I was lucky enough to see him up close this past fall in the Arizona Fall League, I really liked what I saw. He had his ups and downs like all pitchers do, but overall, he looked pretty good! Standing on the mound you could see his determination. Yankee fans should be excited!

I leave you with this... an emotional and unbelievable video on the Yankees site that completes my piece and excites the fan base. 





Keep pushing James, we are all pulling for you!




--Michael Carnesi
BYB Writer