Wow guys and girls, ten editions of “Meet a Prospect” in just two-or-three days. Are you all tired of hearing about prospects yet? I hope not because I am far from tired of writing about them. With the Yankees 10th round pick in the 2017 MLB First Year Players Draft the team took, you guessed it, a pitcher in Chad Whitmer. Whitmer is a right-handed arm out of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Chad Whitmer Edition.
Whitmer, another college senior that will likely sign and
sign well below the cap allocation, threw a team high 104 innings in 2017 on
the way to a 6-3 record and 3.46 ERA in 15 starts. Whitmer was the team’s ace and
it showed as the righty struck out 95 batters while walking just 26 en route to
making the All-Missouri Valley Conference second-team.
Whitmer looks to be another potential fast mover through the
system because of his advanced development, age and the amount of innings that
are already on his arm. In the comments section on the site the other day the
name Ian Kennedy was brought up and for whatever reason Whitmer reminds me a
lot of Kennedy as far as why he was drafted.
Kennedy was drafted to fly through the system and reach the
Major Leagues as soon as possible. At the time the Yankees didn’t have a farm
system to speak of and were looking to rebuild their prospects through the
draft. Now whether the plan was to get Kennedy to the Bronx to groom him or
showcase him in a trade at the time of his drafting is anyone’s guess but it
ultimately ended up being the latter and not the former when the dust settled.
Whitmer could be another Kennedy that simply signs quickly and progresses
quickly through the system. Whitmer doesn’t project as an ace but then again
neither did Kennedy and he has a Cy Young Award to show for his efforts so hey,
you never know.
Welcome to the organization Chad and welcome to the family
as well!
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)