Meet A Prospect : Nik Turley

Okay the kid is 6'7", throws three plus pitches, is left handed, and has drawn comparison to Andy Pettitte... Do you really need to hear anything else? I didn not think so, so that concludes this episode of Meet A Prospect, thanks for tuning in we will see you all next time...

Okay now really there is so much more to be said about this kid. Nik Turley was drafted in the 50th round of the 2008 draft after graduating from Harvard Westlake high school  in California and after signing a letter of intent to BYU. As a 6'7" left hander that throws nice speed with amazing control and three plus pitches I find it hard to fathom that he fell to the 50th round.

Turley is a definite breakout candidate for 2012 as his 2011 season got cut early after a broken hand. We are fully expecting Turley to start in High A ball this season and if he can replicate there what he did in Low A Tampa then I think he will be opening  a lot of eyes this season and I could easily see him moving on to Trenton next season. I know that the Yankees drafted him knowing that he was a project and has been treated as much, with this being the 4th season in the Yankees farm and his age 22 season, but I think this is the season we finally start seeing real dividends from Nik.

Nik Turley comes to mound sporting a 2 seam fastball, sits around 91 or 92 mph, a changeup, sits around 79-81 mph, and a big looping curveball. The curveball is by far his best pitch, which is evident in how much command and control that he has when throwing it. Unlike a lot of big and tall pitchers Turley has shown , with consistency, an ability to repeat his mechanics and stay on top of the ball. He is also a ground ball machine which always works well in Yankees stadium, see Ivan Nova and Chein Ming Wang. Turley's ceiling is probably a middle of the rotation starter and has a great possibility, if everything goes as planned, to be that starter in the Bronx.