Eric Yang

Yang ably handled UC Santa Barbara’s talented pitching staff while hitting .383/.492/.567 to draw attention this spring. He led UCSB to its first conference title since 1986 and was named Big West Conference player of the year. Short but stout, Yang has a catcher’s build and the skills and makeup teams want behind the dish. He is average receiver capable of handling velocity and quality breaking stuff. He thew out 10 of 19 basestealers during the regular season with an average arm, and he puts in the effort behind the plate pitchers love. As a hitter Yang controls the strike zone, puts the ball in play and started getting into his legs better to generate more power this spring. Yang lacks any above-average or plus tools, but his abilities to catch and handle the bat have teams interested.