Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Meet a Prospect: Rico Noel


Jabionski Rico Noel was born on January 11, 1989 in Ville Platte, Louisiana and is the latest Yankees farm hand to be called up as a member of September call ups. While Noel was born in Louisiana his family moved to Oklahoma when he was a junior in High School.  Many people don’t know the name Rico Noel so I thought it would be good to catch up with him and all you all to meet a prospect, Rico Noel.

Noel attended Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma where he starred for the school’s baseball and football teams. It was there where Noel decided he would rather pursue baseball full-time over football and enrolled at Coastal Carolina University to play college baseball for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Noel began his amateur career as a second baseman before switching to center field in his sophomore year.

Noel did enough at Coastal Carolina to catch the attention of the San Diego Padres who came calling in the fifth round of the 2010 MLB First Year Players Draft along with a $163,000 signing bonus. Noel’s professional career started off well and the speedy outfielder even stolen 90 bases in 2012 while playing in High-A. Noel was also named a Minor League Baseball All Star for May of 2013 but his steep decline with San Diego began shortly after the nod. He began the 2015 season inside the Padres organization but asked for his release in hopes of making it to the Major Leagues.

The Padres released Noel in July and he almost immediately signed with the New York Yankees. Noel struggled mightily in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders and struggled to the point where he was used as a pinch runner only for the club. That two to three weeks of pinch running has prepared him for his identical role with the Yankees big league club as a September call up.


Welcome to the club Rico, steal me some bases. 

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)