RUTCKYJ SELECTED
Braves pick local pitcher
Windsor’s Evan Rutckyj could be playing Major League Baseball next season. The Atlanta Braves selected the six-foot-five, 213-pound lefthanded pitcher with the third pick overall in Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft from the New York Yankees organization, who did not have Rutckyj on the team’s 40-man roster.
“(Rutckyj) was a guy who checked a lot of boxes for us,” Braves general manager John Coppolella told mlb. com. “He’s a cold-weather kid who is a late bloomer with a big body. He’s got a really good fastball and a really good breaking ball. He’s a guy (who) is going to get a shot with us.”
The Braves must keep Rutckyj on the team’s 25-man roster for the 2016 season or offer him back to the Yankees for $25,000, which is half what it cost the Braves to make the selection.
“I’m really pumped,” said the 23-year-old Rutckyj, who helped Canada win the gold medal at this year’s Pan American Games in Toronto. “I’ve approached the off-season with the same mindset every year and that’s to make the major league team. I’m not going to change anything I’m doing.”
A former 16th-round pick by the Yankees in 2010, Rutckyj signed with the club for $500,000 US.
“I’m excited,” Rutckyj said. “I knew I had a really good year and when the Yankees didn’t protect me, I knew some people would be interested.
“I was really surprised and happy about the chance to take the next step with a great organization like the Braves.”
Rutckyj started last season in advanced Class A ball with Tampa and went 2-2 with a 2.45 earnedrun average in 25 games with 59 strikeouts in 44 innings.
That earned him a promotion to Class AA Trenton where he went 1-0 in 11 games with a 3.06 earnedrun average. He converted his only save opportunity and had 23 strikeouts in 172/3 innings.
“I think I’m ready,” said Rutckyj, whose fastball has been clocked at 96 m.p.h. “I believe so 100 per cent with the numbers I had. I’m just glad (the Braves) believe I’m ready.”
Pitchers and catchers report to the Braves’ spring training camp Feb. 19 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.