Meet a Prospect: Jimmy Herron

In this crapshoot that is the Major League Baseball First year Players Draft you generally don’t know many of the players that get drafted outside of maybe the first three-to-four rounds. There are just too many schools and too many players to keep up with nationwide and it would literally be  full-time 80 hours per week job to try and keep up with it all so no one will hold it against you if you don’t know the name Jimmy Herron. The New York Yankees drafted Herron out of Duke University in this year’s 2017 MLB Draft as a sophomore in the 31^st round, 932^nd overall. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Jimmy Herron Edition.

During the 2016 collegiate season Herron was named a freshman All-American leaving a lot to live up to for Herron in 2017. Herron started every game for the Blue Devils in 2017, one of three players to do so this season at Duke, compiling an impressive .326 batting average with 17 doubles, 53 runs, 74 hits, 39 RBI, five home runs and 17 stolen bases. Herron’s impressive season led to the Yankees drafting him in the 31^st round of the draft making Herron the third Duke University player to be drafted in 2017 including Justin Bellinger by the Cincinnati Reds in the 22^nd round and James Ziemba by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim also in the 22^nd round.

In two seasons at Duke, Herron owns a .325 batting average which is 12^th best all-time in Duke history. Herron also has 41 stolen bases in two seasons which is 13^th best in school history. Not bad for a sophomore outfielder that many casual fans never heard of. The biggest question regarding Herron, which explains why he was taken in the 31^st round, is whether or not the pros will entice him enough to walk away from his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility.

Will Herron sign or will he look to improve his draft status while making another attempt at a strong season for Duke in 2018 as a junior? Only time will tell so stay tuned. All drafted players have until July 15^th to decide whether they will sign with the teams that drafted them or return to school so we are just over two weeks away from the decision.

If Herron signs we here at The Greedy Pinstripes wish him well next season and have total respect for his decision. If Herron decides to sign then we want to be the first to welcome him to the organization and more importantly we want to be the first to welcome him to the Yankees family. Welcome Jimmy, just in case.