Four Phillies prospects ranked among best in New York-Penn League

No. 13: Kyle Young

Heading into the season there weren’t very many pitching prospects in Williamsport’s rotation, but one name that stood out was Kyle Young. He literally stands above the pack, with official measurements saying he is 6’10 while he claims he is now seven feet tall. Young is all projection with long, skinny arms as he weighs just 223 pounds despite his height.

Young had a strong statistical season, posting a 2.77 ERA, 2.20 fielding-independent pitching, 4.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 1.12 WHIP. He made 13 starts, leading the CrossCutters’ rotation.

Cooper dove into Young’s tools in his write-up:

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"Young was a long-term project the Phillies took a chance on in the 22nd round of the 2016 draft, buying him out of his commitment to Hofstra. Just two years later, that very modest $225,000 gamble is showing signs of paying off. The 6-foot-10 lefty has shown stunningly impressive body control for a NBA center-sized pitcher. He repeats his delivery well, which was evident as he turned into one of the league’s most consistent starters as a 19-year-old. Just how good Young will end up being depends on how much of his still lofty projection he reaches. He generally pitched at 85-90 mph, but he showed he could ramp up to 91-92 mph when needed and his body is still filling out, so there could be more to come. His fastball plays up because he gets excellent extension–hitters rarely squared him up even when he was sitting 88-90. His curveball and changeup are both below-average now but project as future average pitches."

In the NYP chat, a subscriber asked Cooper about Young and other Phillies 2016 draftees:

"Joseph (Philadelphia): What is your view of the high school players that the Phillies drafted in 2016 that played in this league? What are the prospects of Stobbe, Stephens and Kyle Young? Thanks J.J. Cooper: Young is the one that stands out the most. Scouts/coaches were unimpressed with Stobbe’s approach. He has significant power but his approach sells out so much to try to drive the ball that a pitcher can just throw sliders off the plate over and over and know that Stobbe will never hurt him."