The Yankees made a quiet but intriguing move during this year’s Rule 5 Draft, selecting right-hander Cade Winquest-marking their first pick in this phase since 2011. It’s not the type of transaction that grabs headlines in December, but it’s the kind of calculated gamble that could pay dividends if the development plan clicks.
Winquest, a 25-year-old out of the University of Texas at Arlington, brings one tool that always turns heads: velocity. According to Yankees assistant GM Michael Fishman, that’s exactly what drew the club in.
“He's got big velocity,” Fishman said, noting the organization’s confidence in its pitching infrastructure to refine the raw stuff. “He has characteristics that our pitching group is good at working with.
We'll get him with our pitching department and make a few tweaks. He's somebody who hopefully could help us.”
That’s the blueprint: bring in a live arm with upside, hand him off to a development team that’s earned a reputation for maximizing pitcher potential, and see what happens. With Winquest, the foundation is there-especially when it comes to spin.
Winquest himself echoed that sentiment, saying the Yankees were particularly drawn to his ability to generate high spin rates on both his fastball and curveball. That’s music to the ears of a modern pitching coach, and Matt Blake is already eager to get to work.
“From what I’ve been told, it’s my ability to spin the ball,” Winquest said. “With my fastball and curveball, I have really good spin on that. Even with my other pitches, I’ve been able to pick up pitches fairly quickly and use that to my advantage.”
Blake, according to Winquest, is already thinking about ways to sharpen the arsenal-maybe tweaking grips, maybe adding something new entirely. That kind of collaborative approach is what’s helped the Yankees turn overlooked arms into reliable contributors in recent years.
And while Winquest still has plenty to prove, he’s not shying away from the opportunity. In fact, he sounds like a guy who’s ready to embrace the challenge of wearing pinstripes.
“I’m pumped to play for this organization,” he said. “It’s definitely the most famous organization in baseball history. I’m ready to go and ready to do everything I can to help this team win.”
The Rule 5 Draft isn’t typically where you find aces or All-Stars-but every now and then, a team uncovers a gem. The Yankees are betting that with the right development and some fine-tuning, Cade Winquest might just be one of those stories.