Nick Nelson’s first season with the Yankees didn’t go as smoothly as one might have hoped, but the 20-year-old righthander showed enough promise during his professional debut to make him an interesting breakout candidate for next season.
Taking Nelson in the fourth round (128th overall) in this year’s June amateur draft was seen by some as a reach. Baseball America had him ranked all the way down at 325 on their top 500 back before the draft. Since he ended up signing over $100,000 under-slot, it’s possible that the pick was somewhat financially motivated, helping the Yankees save their pennies for big fish first rounder Blake Rutherford’s enormous stack of cash.