OAKLAND, Calif. — When the Yankees chose U.C.L.A. pitcher James Kaprielian two years ago with the 16th overall pick in the amateur draft, they liked his sturdy build, his powerful arm and his breaking pitches, which showed great promise. But the Yankees were also drawn by something else.
“The first thing we liked about James is he’s been a healthy pitcher,” Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ vice president of domestic amateur scouting, said then.
Kaprielian was with the Yankees this week — but only as a spectator in Anaheim, near his home in Southern California, where he is recovering from Tommy John surgery.