St. Dominic ace Kyle Young picked by Phillies in 22nd round of MLB Draft
St. Dominic pitcher Kyle Young delivers against Chaminade in a CHSAA varsity baseball game at Cantiague Park on Monday, May 16, 2016. Credit: James Escher
The anticipation of being selected in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft excited Kyle Young.
“It was so exciting just waiting for the moment,” Young said from his home in Syosset on Saturday. “There were a couple of teams that were interested in me and I was hoping they’d call my name. It was a huge surprise when the Phillies made the announcement. My sister and my parents and I just couldn’t believe it. But it was real.”
Young, a 6-10, 220-pound senior from St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, was selected in the 22nd round by Philadelphia.
The fireballing lefthander was 7-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 42 2⁄3 innings this season. The three-year varsity starter had two shutouts among his victories.
“We love him,” said Sal Agostinelli, the Phillies’ director of international scouting. “He has excellent technique and a smooth delivery. We see tremendous potential in him.”
Young anticipates starting in the Rawlings Grand Slam Challenge for the Nassau senior all-stars at Farmingdale State College at 7 p.m. Tuesday. It’ll be his last time on the mound as an amateur pitcher.
“I always felt if someone made me the right offer, I’d have realized my dreams,” Young said. “The moment you’re drafted is the one you feel like you’ve waited for your whole life.
“It was crazy when I heard my name. So I ran to the store and bought a Phillies hat.”
Young, who accepted a scholarship to play for Hof stra University, said one of the first texts he received was one of congratulations from Hofstra baseball coach John Russo.
“He’s a class act,” Young said. “Hofstra was the right fit for me, but this is an opportunity I’ve always wanted.”
Young knows he’ll soon be wearing Phillies red and white when he goes to their minor-league complex in Clearwater, Florida.
“I texted [Nick Fanti] right away and he texted me right back to congratulate me and tell me what a great organization the Phillies are,” Young said of his friend, a lefthanded pitcher from Hauppauge who signed with the Phillies last year. “This feels so right for me and my family.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
