Former Beckman ace and Yankees first round draft pick James Kaprielian determined to fulfill his dream

James Kaprielian (left) with former Beckman principal Adele Heurer and Kaprielian’s father, Doug, at a Beckman football game at Tustin. Kaprielian was a baseball and football star at Beckman. (Tim Burt photo)

Former Beckman star pitcher and New York Yankees first round draft pick James Kaprielian still intends on fulfilling his dream of competing in the Major Leagues one day.

“That’s the ultimate goal and now that this surgery is out of the way I have a long healthy career the rest of the way so we will see what happens,” Kaprielian said.

There have been setbacks along the way for Kaprielian, who was the New York Yankees first round draft pick in 2015 before being traded to the Oakland A’s organization.  Kaprielian is now recovering from Tommy John surgery and said he is waiting to hear where his next assignment will be with Oakland.

“The arm is good, I had the surgery and had a little bit of a setback along the way but it’s part of it sometimes and more importantly, I’m good now and excited for what is hopefully going to come in the future,” said Kaprielian after a recent Beckman football game he attended to watch his former team.

Kaprielian said he is already preparing for next season.

“I took a little bit of a break,” he said. “It’s going to kick off pretty soon and luckily I have a good group of guys I train with and on the medical side with me as well. I’m going to get after it and treat it like a normal off-season and get prepared for spring training. Wherever I am, I’m going to try and go win games. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

Kaprielian, who played baseball and football at Beckman, said he has been following the program. Kaprielian had a stellar baseball career with the Patriots, throwing two no-hitters in 2012 in his senior year before starring at UCLA and being selected as the 16th pick by the Yankees in 2015.

“I keep in touch with (baseball coach Kevin) Lavalle a little bit and they seem to be continuing the tradition that we’ve tried to establish there,” he said. “They have a bunch of good guys there and I’m looking forward to following them again this year.”

Kaprielian watched Beckman’s football team defeat Northwood in a PCL game earlier this year at Tustin and visited with former Beckman principal Adele Heuer.

“It’s good to come back here and kind of relive it from a little different standpoint, but it’s good to be back and see all of this again,” Kaprielian said.

Lavalle, the baseball coach, said he is confident Kaprielian will be successful.

“James is going to be just fine,” he said. “I know the fairy-tale had James dominating his way through the minor leagues, then getting called up to New York, and making a splash for the Yankees.

“His story is still being written, and the truth is that in professional baseball, many pitchers have arm surgeries. If you know anything about the Major Leagues, every roster is filled with guys that have had Tommy John. It’s not something that anyone wants, but sometimes it’s inevitable.

“He has kept his chin up, gone through rehab at a patient pace, and he is looking forward to spring. I’m sure the hardest thing for a person as active as James has been the waiting, but that’s really all you can do until the time comes where you can compete again.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com