Central Valley grad Jeremy Wu-Yelland selected in MLB draft

Jeremy Wu-Yelland, a 2017 Central Valley grad, was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

Wu-Yelland, a 6-foot-2 left-hander pitching collegiately at Hawaii, was the 118th overall selection in the draft. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the MLB Draft was shortened from 40 rounds to five.

He becomes the sixth Rainbow Warrior to be selected as a top-five round draft pick under head coach Mike Trapasso. He was ranked the 12th-best relief pitcher by D1Baseball.com and ranked among Baseball America’s Top 500 prospects.

Wu-Yelland tied for the team high in appearances with seven before the pandemic shut down the season. The junior was the only pitcher on the Hawaii staff with double-digit innings pitched (13.0) and an ERA below 1.00 (0.69).

He struck out a season-high six against No. 2 Vanderbilt over four innings on Feb. 29 without allowing a run or walk. Wu-Yelland earned the win on Opening Day out of the bullpen with three innings of shutout relief.

Wu-Yelland was the Opening Day starter for Hawaii last season and went 2-4 with seven starts in 17 games with a 4.86 ERA. He recorded 44 strikeouts in 46.1 innings while opposing batters hit .249.

He was named academic all-Big West following his sophomore campaign.

Wu-Yelland played for Chatham in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer. He struck out 26 batters in 25.2 innings with the Anglers and finished with a 3.16 ERA.

In high school, Wu-Yelland was a two-time first-team all-Greater Spokane League selection and earned a first-team all-state nod his senior season, helping lead CV to a GSL title his junior year. He pitched three seasons for the Spokane Expos club team.

He received 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game preseason all-American honors prior to his senior season and competed in the prestigious Area Code Games for the Kansas City Royals in 2016.