D-backs draft TCU lefty Young in Round 2
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- As it got closer to their second-round pick (43rd overall) the mood in the D-backs draft room got a little tense as they watched their desired players start moving off the board.
The exhaled, though, when TCU left-hander Alex Young was still there.
"We were just sitting there hoping he would be there," D-backs scouting director Deric Ladnier said.
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Earlier in the evening, the D-backs selected Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson with the No. 1 overall pick.
Young, 21, was a reliever before transitioning to a starting role this year. He pitched for TCU on Monday night in their Super Regional allowing one run and striking out 10 in 6 2/3 innings in TCU's 5-4 win in 16 innings vs. Texas A&M. The Horned Frogs, like Swanson's Commodores, are heading to the College World Series.
In 16 games (15 starts) this year, the 6-foot-2, 205 pound Young is 9-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings.
"Big, strong, durable," Ladnier said of Young. "Probably pitches with an average fastball, plus slider, plus feel for a changeup and command of the zone. He is a guy that we feel like we can get into the system and could quickly get through it because of his ability to throw strikes, his size, his durability, and once again, he's a proven winner."
Some see Young's future as reliever, but the D-backs are not among them.
"He's a starter, absolutely," Ladnier said. "We don't look at him as a reliever. If you wanted to maybe try to get him to the big leagues quicker, I guess you could because he has been a reliever before, but our intention will be [to develop him] as a starter."
The Draft continues at 10 a.m. MST on Tuesday with Rounds 3-10. The D-backs will have the first pick in each of those rounds.
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