The New York Yankees recently made their first selection in the Rule 5 Draft since 2011. The organization chose to pick up right-hander Cade Winquest, and it seems as though he has the potential to make an impact.
Yankees assistant general manager Michael Fishman, the team is high on the youngster’s velocity and feels as though it could eventually serve him well in the majors.
“He's got big velocity,” Fishman told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “He has characteristics that our pitching group is good at working with. We'll get him with our pitching department and make a few tweaks. He's somebody who hopefully could help us.”
The 25-year-old attended the University of Texas at Arlington, and Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake explained why the team was interested in his services.
“From what I’ve been told, it’s my ability to spin the ball,” Winquest said. “With my fastball and curveball, I have really good spin on that. Even with my other pitches, I’ve been able to pick up pitches fairly quickly and use that to my advantage.
“What Blake told me was, ‘We love the way you [have] spin capacity on all your pitches.’ He’s really excited to work with me and maybe adjust some grips to make pitches better and maybe add a new pitch. We’ll see.”
Regardless of how or why the Yankees chose to draft Winquest, he seems ready for the challenge.
“I’m pumped to play for this organization,” Winquest said. “It’s definitely the most famous organization in baseball history. I’m ready to go and ready to do everything I can to help this team win.”
