Kennedy-Kenrick Grad Joe Harvey Makes New York Yankees Roster

NORRISTOWN, PA — A local man has made it to the big show. 2010 Kennedy-Kenrick graduate Joe Harvey was added to the Yankees 40-man roster late Tuesday night.

Harvey, 26, an Audubon native and right-handed relief pitcher, has spent the past five seasons in the Yankees minor league system, holding a stellar 1.75 earned run average across 144 innnings. He ended the 2018 season with their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton Wilkes-Barre, just one small step from the major leagues.

Tuesday night at midnight was the deadline for major league teams to add players to their 40-man rosters, which is a list of all players eligible to be used by the club. By adding Harvey to that roster, the Yankees protected him from being taken by another club in this winter's Rule 5 draft, for which he had just become eligible.

Especially on a team as deep as the Yankees, His addition to the roster last night is a likely indicator that the team expects to use him in New York at some point in 2019.

"I can’t pick many more things I’m trying to check-off besides getting to the big leagues and staying there," Harvey told Yankees blog Pinstriped Prospects in an interview earlier this month.

Harvey was part of the last cadre of graduates, the class of 2010, before Kennedy-Kenrick closed for good in June 2010. During a star studded high school career as a two way player, he led Kennedy-Kenrick to the 2009 and 2010 District 12 AA championship. He went on to pitch for the University of Pittsburgh, leading the team his senior year with a 2.90 ERA and working as both a closer and a starter.

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Upon graduation in 2014, he was selected by the Yankees in the 14th round of the Amateur Draft. Just getting drafted puts him in elite territory, but Harvey has now positioned himself to be a contributing member of one of league's strongest teams.

Despite the Yankees formidable bullpen, pitching depth is incredibly important for postseason contenders, and Harvey's shot could come sooner than later. He's reportedly working on his breaking ball this offseason in an effort to expand his repetoire.

"I have confidence in it now," he told Pinstriped Prospects. "But (I just want) to show other people that have confidence in it."

Image via Kristin Borden/Patch