Yankees’ first round pick continues to crush pro pitching

When the Yankees used their 39th overall pick on Dax Kilby, there was an understanding that it would take a few years for him to be Major League ready.

An 18-year-old drafed out of high school, Kilby was assigned to Single-A Tampa to play shortstop for the Tarpons, and he’s dominated in his first taste of pro ball.

He has an excellent combination of contact and raw power, Dax Kilby is in the 88th Percentile in Z-Contact% and the 97th Percentile in Whiff% among Single-A hitters.

The left-handed hitter is also in the 98th Percentile in O-Swing%, allowing him to work walks at a high clip while avoiding strikeouts.

The bat-to-ball skills aren’t surprising, they were his calling card coming out of high school and he told us in an exclusive interview that he hates striking out.

That being said, what got lost in that interview by some was how focused Dax Kilby was on increasing his bat speed in high school to make him a better hitter:

“Everyone wants to hit the ball hard…more often you hit the ball hard the more hits you’ll more than likely have. It’s a very key piece to anyone’s game to be able to hit the ball hard.” – Dax Kilby

You can read the full article here, but it’s relevant because he’s in the 95th Percentile in Average Exit Velocity (91.1 MPH) and the 75th Percentile in 90th Percentile EV (104 MPH) so far.

It’s too early to determine what his EVs would be over a full season, but you could project his raw power to improve as he gets older and grows into his body more.

As things stand right now, I’m leaning towards including Kilby in my top three among prospects inside the Yankees’ system, and the organization should consider moving him up to Hudson Valley before the season ends.