The Southern Tier and Western New York have a new Major League Baseball prospect to cheer for — and his story is one for the ages.
Portville’s Maxx Yehl was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the third round of the M-L-B Draft Saturday in Philadelphia — the ninety-first overall pick — becoming the highest drafted West Virginia University pitcher in program history.
Yehl is a six-foot-six, two-hundred-thirty-five-pound left-hander who had to miss the entire twenty-twenty-five season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He came back with a vengeance — going nine and three with a two-thirteen E-R-A across ninety-seven innings, striking out one-hundred-twelve batters for the Mountaineers this spring — helping lead West Virginia to its first-ever College World Series appearance. He was named the Big Twelve Pitcher of the Year, a unanimous first-team All-American, and a finalist for National Pitcher of the Year. His fastball touches ninety-six miles per hour, and Royals scouts are already talking about him as a potential starter.
At Portville Central, Yehl won a Section Six title and was twice named the Big Thirty Player of the Year. He also pitched for the Olean Oilers — and on Wednesday threw out the ceremonial first pitch at an Oilers game right here at home.
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