yankeesdaily.com

Full Name: Kevin Alexander Russo
Born: 07/08/1984
Birthplace: West Babylon, NY
College: Baylor
Height: 5′ 11″
Weight: 190
Bats: R
Throws: R

The Yankees drafted utility infielder Kevin Russo out of Baylor University in the 20th (614th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.

2009 Batting Statistics
Club (League)	Class	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	SH	SF	GIDP	OBP	SLG	OPS
Scranton/W-B (IL)	AAA	.326	90	353	51	115	18	2	5	31	42	55	13	7	3	5	5	.397	.431	.828

High School Background
Kevin Russo was born in West Babylon, New York, was raised in Boulder, Colorado and starred in two sports at Fairview High School. He was a first-team all-state honoree as a senior baseball player and a two-time first-team All-Centennial League and first-team all-region selection. Hit .478 as a junior and .442 as a senior and received Fairview’s Silver Bat award each year while hitting three home runs each season. He participated in the Colorado High School All-Star game as a senior.

He was a pretty good football player as he led the Fairview High School football team to the Centennial League title and state runner-up finish as a senior. Kevin Russo was named the Colorado 5A Offensive MVP, first-team all-state, first-team all-conference and first-team all-region as a senior. He was also named the Centennial League Player of the Year as a senior after establishing a state rushing record of 174.6 yards per game.

He lettered in Wrestling and has achieved brown-belt status in Tae Kwon-Do.

College Background
Went to San Jacinto Junior College in East Harris County, Texas where he was a 2004 first-team All-Region 14 South selection. He led the Gators to a 93-35 record in two seasons and consecutive national runner-up finishes at the Junior College World Series and earned Junior College World Series all-tournament honors in 2004. Hit .345 with eight home runs as a freshman and .374 with seven home runs as a sophomore while establishing San Jacinto’s single-season record with 30 doubles in 2004.

He played on a team called Hays Larks in the Jayhawk summer league in 2004 and was the third-ranked prospect and top-ranked infield prospect in Jayhawk League according to Baseball America. Hit .377, tops on the team, with seven home runs, 28 RBI, 26 runs, nine doubles and eight stolen bases
while posting a .608 slugging percentage and a .434 on base percentage

As a junior, he transferred to Baylor University where he played for the Baylor Athletics. He lead the team with 21 multiple-hit games, 12 multiple-RBI games, ranked 12th in Big 12 with .327 batting average in league games, tied for fifth in Big 12 with 21 RBI in league play, 12 multiple-hit, eight multiple-RBI games and had two hitting streaks of seven games,

Before he was drafted by the Yankees in the 20th round (614th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, he was a 2004 Jayhawk League No. 3 Prospect by Baseball America, a 2005 All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention by RosenblattReport.com and a 2006 Preseason All-Big 12 Conference by Baseball America.

Minor League Career

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org.	Level	Pos	Ln	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	Baylor	Big12	20	-	NCAA			70	259	41	74	8	2	3	36	8	6	24	39	3		11	0	1	.286	.353	.367	720
2006	Baylor	Big12	21	-	NCAA			63	232	47	64	12	2	2	35	15	1	33	30	3		4	6	2	.276	.365	.371	736
	GCL Yankees	GCL	21	NYY	Rk	2b-3b		45	150	23	41	10	0	3	23	6	2	20	18	8	0	1	2	1	.273	.383	.400	783
2007	Tampa	FSL	22	NYY	A+	2b		109	385	47	108	22	3	2	45	19	6	15	66	5	0	3	6	6	.281	.311	.369	680
2008	Trenton	East	23	NYY	AA	2b-3b		71	267	46	82	17	3	2	33	8	3	23	42	2	1	3	3	5	.307	.363	.416	779
2009	Scranton/WB	IL	24	NYY	AAA			90	353	51	115	18	2	5	31	13	7	42	55	3	2	3	5	5	.326	.397	.431	828
Minor League Totals – 4 Season(s)								315	1155	167	346	67	8	12	132	46	18	100	181	18	3	10	16	17	.300	.360	.403	763

Kevin Russo made the 2009 TOPPS Triple-A All-Star Team and finished fourth in Triple-A with a .326 average, had 18 doubles, two triples, five homers and 31 RBI in 90 games. He missed a lot of April and May because of a nagging hamstring injury.

Batting and Power

Kevin Russo is a disciplined hitter who excels in all phases of situational hitting. He is a very good contact hitter who is adept at putting balls in play. He is very good in hit-and-run situations as well because he can go to the opposite field, lay down bunts, hit in the clutch and move runners over very well. He also has good gap-to-gap power but hasn’t hit many home runs in his career. Since he has a solid frame and good loft, he can hit for more power as he gains more experience.

Base Running and Speed
He doesn’t have the greatest speed for a middle infielder but he does decent speed for a thick built player. He has a good first step and can be pretty aggressive on the base paths. He’s always hustling and this helps him take the extra base when needed.

Defense
Russo’s greatest asset defensively is his ability to man multiple positions well. Second base is his natural position and this is where he feels the most comfortable playing. His arm is strong enough to play third base and some outfield. He has good enough range to play shortstop in short periods of time but it’s not his position. He’s not elite defensively at any one position but he does play most of them pretty well.

YankeesDaily’s Take and Projection

He has no home run power and he doesn’t play short stop which limits his usefulness as a bench player in the American League.

He hits for a great average, has great plate dicispline, has decent speed, excels in situational hitting and brings a great work ethic to the game. He’ll need a change of scenery if a baseball team is going to get the best of out him especially with Robinson Cano stuck at second base at the pro level. He should break into the big leagues as a utility prospect initially and eventually become a more valuable player.

Kevin Russo Video from Mike Ashmore’s Thunder Thoughts.

Tags: kevin russo, kevin russo - prospect profile, new york yankees, scranton/wilkes barre yankees, yankeesdaily

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.