The New York Yankees know that it takes a lot of resources to maintain a top notch organization. Those resources not only include the money that they are famous for spending, but also patience in finding and developing young talent. Across their minor league system, the Yankees have many prospects who have not yet emerged on to the national scene, hope to with a little time.
Right-handed pitcher Matt Richardson is one of those young prospects that the Yankees are working with. He was taken in the 15th round of the 2008 MLB draft out of high school. In his senior season, Richardson went 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 50 2/3 innings, striking out 67. He entered professional baseball with a low-90’s fastball, and a promising curve. New York gave Richardson a healthy signing bonus to draw him away from going to the University of Central Florida.
Still just 21 years old, Richardson has been moved very cautiously by the Yankees. He has also experienced some injuries, which has limited his development, and he has yet to rise above low-A ball. He has pitched well out of the bullpen for the Staten Island Yankees in low-A this year, and should be pitching above that level next year, which will be a pivotal year for him. More information about his career statistics to date is available at
Richardson has a lot to do in order to position himself amongst the Yankee top prospects. However, given his natural talent, and the propensity New York has in identifying talent, it is a good bet that that could happen. Only time will tell.
Matt Richardson Interview:
How did you first get interested in baseball?: It was a family thing. It’s been in my family since, I don’t even know how long. Of course my dad… naturally I was going to play baseball. He played in college and my Granddad played, so it’s just been passed down to me.
Did you have a favorite team or player growing up?: I was a Cubs fan. I was from Illinois. Not too much of a favorite player really. I liked Prior back in the day, because Kerry Wood and Prior, I watched them every day back when I was younger.
What was the draft process and picking an agent like for you?: Finding an agent wasn’t really stressful at all, but the draft itself was very stressful because teams tell you they are going to take you in certain places and it just doesn’t work out and you drop, and you’re just going, ‘when am I ever going to get taken?’ You gotta wait a few days to figure out how good you actually are.
Did you do anything special for you or your family after you signed?: Not really. The whole draft for me was kind of like a big party, cause it was my birthday and my high school graduation was right in the same week. So, I didn’t really do anything special for the draft. It was just kind of a big thing for me, the whole week.
What do you think you need to work on most to make the jump to the next level?: Just consistency on pitches. There’s flashes of good stuff in there, but I’m still not where I want to be. I really need to keep working, and [Danny] Borrell is a really good pitching coach, so I’m looking forward to staying with him and seeing what he can fix with me.
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