Ryan Garcia
I’ve become fairly impressed with the Yankees‘ work in the Undrafted Free Agent market, as they have found really interesting names in that unheralded market recently.
Rafael Flores, who was the headlining prospect in the trade that brought David Bednar from Pittsburgh to New York, made his Major League debut last season.
A lesser-known prospect in Ben Shields was also shipped off at the deadline, and he was considered a top-30 prospect inside the Yankees’ organization as well.
We might be looking at another notable addition to that list, with RHP Tyler Boudreau lighting things up in Single-A for the Tampa Tarpons.
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Why Tyler Boudreau Could Be the Yankees’ Next UDFA Win
Tyler Boudreau is a right-handed pitcher who stays behind the ball really well, allowing him to create a lot of back spin and top spin on the ball easily.
He throws a four-seamer with good ride, an outlier pitch due to the elite-level vertical movement that creates that signature “rising” effect that fools hitters at the top of the zone.
The average four-seam Induced Vertical Break (IVB) on a fastball thrown at his release height is 16.2 inches, whereas Boudreau generates 19.4 inches of IVB on that pitch.
He would have the lowest release height (5.83 feet) for any pitcher with more than 19.0 IVB on their fastball at the Major League level.
A pitcher who can create abnormal shapes can fool hitters in ways that others cannot, I remember my curiosity when a younger Cam Schlittler started flashing a pitch similar to Corbin Burnes’ cutter.
His four-seamer’s elite movement helps it make up for a mediocre 93 MPH sitting velocity, and I like the way that his secondary pitches have begun to emerge.
The changeup he’s developed is his go-to weapon against lefties, while the slider is a strikeout machine against right-handed batters.
All of this gets complimented with a curveball that averages over 57 inches of drop, allowing Boudreau to attack the northern and southern parts of the zone well.
He’s running a 33.3% Whiff% and a 3.40 ERA with the Tampa Tarpons, and I think he could end up moving to High-A with the Hudson Valley Renegades before the All-Star Break.
I think there’s some projectability here where we could see some improvements in his slider shape to get more depth or some improving velocity as well.
We could see the 92-94 get to around 93-95 which wouldn’t be a massive change, but would give his fastball even better swing-and-miss rates.
I’m certain that he will be in our next top 30 prospect update during July, and I view him as a potential backend MLB starter who is on an interesting trajectory.
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