Yankees Prospect Profile: Austin DeCarr

Background

One of the Yankees' youngest pitching prospects, Austin DeCarr was drafted in 2014 and he will have only just turned 20 by the end of spring training. A third round pick, he was considered the top overall talent acquired by the Yankees in last year's draft. The Massachusetts native actually graduated high school in 2013, but due to elbow issues in his senior year, he decided to do a post-graduate year at Salisbury Prep in Connecticut.

The move worked wonders, as when DeCarr returned, he was throwing harder than ever. As noted by Bryan Hoch, his fastball typically reaches 92-93 mph, but he has been known to amp it up to the mid-90s when necessary. DeCarr also has a hard curveball in his repertoire, which Baseball Prospectus said had "good downward bite and bat-missing potential," and he's working on a changeup as well, though that pitch is in the early stages of development.

2014 Results

Gulf Coast (Rk): 11 G, 8 GS, 23 1/3 IP, 4.63 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 9.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9

After being ranked by MLB.com and Baseball America in the Top 100 Pre-Draft Prospects, DeCarr was selected by the Yankees 91st overall. He had a commitment to Clemson, but the Yankees decided that he was worth going way over slot to sign, earning DeCarr a cool $1 million bonus. Shortly thereafter, DeCarr reported to one of the Yankees' Rookie ball teams in the Gulf Coast League. He held his own at age 19, striking out just over a batter per inning while flashing some of the potential he showed as a draft prospect. A greater challenge likely awaits him in 2015 at a level higher than just Rookie ball.

2015 Outlook

Depending on what the Yankees think of him at the end of minor league spring training, DeCarr seems likely to report to either the Staten Island Yankees or the new Pulaski Yankees, both of which begin their shortened seasons in mid-June. Staten Island would be a bit more potent since the New York-Penn League is considered to be higher than the Appalachian League, which is almost a middle ground between Short-Season-A and Rookie ball.

DeCarr has the ceiling of a #3 caliber starter, but as previously mentioned he will have to work on expanding his pitch selection beyond just a fastball and curve. Otherwise, he might be merely another relief prospect. The 2015 season will be a fine opportunity for him to demonstrate that he's more than just that. DeCarr has a couple nice pitches already, so it would be excellent for him to become yet another starting option for the Yankees a few years down the road.

Here with DeCarr
I feel safest of all
He can outpitch his floor
It's the only way to live
DeCarr