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The Yankees picked right-handed pitcher Nick Rumbelow in the seventh round of the draft out of LSU. The 6 foot, 190 pound Texan projects to be a high strikeout reliever out of the bullpen. He is ranked 424th on Baseball America's top 500 prospect list.
He had a strong showing for the Tigers, but the Yankees ultimately took him. His fastball sits in the low 90s, but is straight at times and he throws a power curveball that could be a plus pitch for him. He lacks good control and his bad arm action has scouts worried about future injuries. He collected 52 strikeouts in 60 innings out of the Cape Cod League in 2011 and 43 strikeouts in 25.2 innings in 2012. In 2013, at LSU, he had a 9.11 K/9, but also a 4.55 BB/9 and a 3.90 ERA in 27.2 innings as a Junior at LSU.
He sounds like another high strikeout reliever that the Yankees have drafted a lot over the last few years and have had success developing. Look for him to move fast through the system like David Robertson and Mark Montgomery have done, but his high walk rate is a concern and he will have to work through that if he wants to find success in professional baseball.
More Yankees Draft Coverage from Pinstriped Bible:
Yankees select OF Aaron Judge|Yankees select 3B Eric Jagielo
Yankees select 2B Gosuke Katoh|Yankees select LHP Ian Clarkin
Yankees select OF Michael O'Neill|Yankees select SS Tyler Wade
Yankees select RHP David Palladino|Yankees select SS John Murphy
Yankees select RHP Nick Rumbelow|Yankees select OF Branden Thomas
Yankees select LHP Conner Kendrick|Yankees select LHP Tyler Webb