LHP Jeff Degano 2nd Round (57th Overall)- New York Yankees [Signed]
With the 15th pick of the second round (57th overall) the New York Yankees selected collegiate left-handed pitcher Jeff Degano.
Degano has signed with his new team.
Bats/Throws: Left/Left
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia
Teams: Indiana State, White Rock Tritons, Marshalltown Community College
Coaches: Herman Stebbe, Ray Bersy: Brent Swanson, Darcy Sidhoo, Adam Ladouceur, Rich Grife
Twitter Handle: @JDegano
Scout: Mike Gibbons
Slot Money: $1,074,400
Signed For: $650,000
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45
Rated: 54th on the ESPN top 100. 83rd on the Baseball America top 500. 94th on the MLB Pipeline top 200. 138th on the Perfect Game top 500 list, First among Canadians in college.
Scouting Reports:
Baseball America
Heading into 2015, Indiana State’s coaching staff would have been happy if Degano merely earned a spot in the weekend rotation. The Sycamores admit that even they didn’t see him turning into one of the most dominating starters in college baseball this year.
The British Columbia-native had missed almost all of 2013 and all of the 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. In fall ball he showed no signs of ace potential except for the fact that his velocity had ticked back up into the low 90s. But from day one this spring, Degano has dominated thanks to a 90-94 mph fastball and a plus 78-82 mph slurve with good depth.
He’s shown he can vary the shape of the breaking ball to make it a little bigger and slower or harder and later-breaking depending on the situation which has led to 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings (seventh-best in Division I). Degano also throws a fringy changeup, but he’s used it infrequently this season.
His fastball is relatively straight, which could lead a team to consider making him a power reliever, but he’ll likely head out as a starter and if he can develop his changeup, he has the makings of a lefthanded starter who can miss bats.
MLB Prospect Watch
It took two years longer than expected, but Degano finally has become the quality starter Indiana State believed he could. A Canadian who pitched in the 2005 Little League World Series and spent his first two college seasons at Marshalltown (Iowa) CC, he opened 2013 in the Sycamores' weekend rotation. But he blew out his elbow after three starts and has Tommy John surgery that sidelined him throughout the 2014 season.
Healthy again this spring, the redshirt junior works at 88-92 mph and can reach 95 with his fastball, which features some natural cutting life. He gets many of his strikeouts with his hard slurve, which he can run away from lefties and back-foot against righties.
Degano has a decent changeup with some fade and will need to use it more as a starter in pro ball. He throws strikes but his command could use some refinement. Though he doesn't have a true plus offering, he has the upside of a three-pitch starter with the fallback of becoming a situational lefty.
Perfect Game
Degano’s route to prospect status in the 2015 MLB Draft has been a bit longer but he announced his presence this spring. After a successful freshman year in 2012 at Marshalltown Community College in Iowa, Degano made just three starts in 2013 before missing the rest of the spring and ultimately all of 2014 as well.
This spring has been a different story for the Canadian-born Degano as he’s worked a full season, finding success on all fronts. Serving as the Sycamores’ ace this spring – who have had a tall lefthander serve as their ace in the past in Sean Manaea– Degano led the pitching staff with 15 starts and 99 innings pitched. Using his size to his advantage the lefthander works in the low-90s with his fastball and shows the ability to run it up to 94 mph frequently. Showing both a curveball and changeup in his arsenal, it’s the curveball that Degano shows the most feel for, working in the low-80s.
In what has been his first full season at the NCAA Division I level, Degano has posted solid numbers across the board. Over his 99 innings Degano struck out a remarkable 126, good for third best in the country as of May 23, showing his ability to command the zone while missing bats.
Degano was shocked when NYY called