Yanks’ low-level pitching prospects show stuff
TAMPA — Before leaving the mound at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday, Brock Selvidge made it a point to shake a few hands.
The Yankees pitching prospect did so not only with manager Aaron Boone, but also CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, who all watched Selvidge and other farmhands throw to some of the Yankees’ heaviest hitters. Sabathia and Pettitte, working as guest instructors this spring, pitched from the left side. So does Selvidge.
The handshakes made for a nice moment between generations of Yankees southpaws on a day where several of the organization’s best low-level pitchers ventured across the street from the team’s minor league facility. The group also included Kyle Carr, another lefty, Brian Hendry, Luis Serna and Trystan Vrieling.
Only Selvidge and Serna have pitched in professional, affiliated games. But the likes of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Rizzo and other bonafide big leaguers awaited the quintet.
Hendry, a 24-year-old 10th-round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2023, had the honor of pithing live batting practice first.
“Hendry kicked it off with a crowd like, ‘Here we go against the big boys,’ ” Boone said of the Medford, N.J. native, adding that he “handled himself well.” Selvidge, 21, and Serna, 19, went next. A third-round pick in 2021, Selvidge is considered the Yankees’ 18th-best prospect by FanGraphs. The Texas native spent the 2023 season with Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley, totaling a 3.45 ERA over 24 games (23 starts).
Boone noted that the lefty started to regain velocity over the last year after pitching in just 11 games in 2022.
Serna, ranked 27th, is from Mexico. The teenager has only pitched in the Dominican Summer League and Florida Complex League. He recorded a 4.19 ERA over 19⅓ innings in the FCL last year.
On Friday, he displayed a nasty breaking ball and changeup. Those offerings helped him strikeout Stanton before Soto clobbered a ball off the pitcher.
“Serna, we really like,” Boone said. “I mean, it’s a real, real changeup. There’s mound presence to him.”
From there, Carr and Vrieling took their turns on the mound.
Carr, a 21-year-old third-round pick out of Palomar College in 2023, ranks 24th in the Yankees’ system. The Yankees drafted Vrieling, a Gonzaga product, in the third round in 2022.
Injuries sidelined both last year, but Thursday provided a chance for the two and their contemporaries to impress Boone and a few Yankees legends.
“It was fun watching them. I think all of them, you can see why they’re highly thought of,” Boone said. “Obviously, a little further away [from the majors], but I thought, to a man, they gave you something to be excited about.
“It’s one of those significant days for those guys getting over here and it’s part of the development process ... But I thought all of them represented themselves well.”