After the MLB Draft ended on Tuesday afternoon, right-hander Cole Zaffiro became the latest professional from the University of Pennsylvania baseball team, signing with the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent.
Zaffiro accepted his role as the ace of Penn’s rotation in 2024, earning second-team All-Ivy accolades and guiding the club to its second consecutive Ivy League Tournament title and NCAA regional participation. He led all Ivy pitchers in innings (77.2) and strikeouts (96) this year.
Early in the season, he made two excellent starts in a row against Lafayette and Brown, receiving Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors in consecutive weeks. Zaffiro recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in seven shutout innings against the Bears, after striking out nine Leopards without allowing a run in six frames.
He was named to the All-Ivy League Tournament after striking out nine in six innings in Penn’s opener against Columbia, before winning in relief against Cornell in Game 6, allowing only one run in three innings with six strikeouts.
Zaffiro had a good season in 2023, earning first-team All-Ivy accolades for leading the Quakers in innings pitched (72.0) and WHIP (1.14). He ranked second on the squad in strikeouts (80) and third in opponents’ batting average (.211). Zaffiro’s best performance of the season came against Samford in a 1-0 NCAA regional game, when he struck out eight in eight innings while allowing only two runs and four hits. As a result, Zaffiro was selected to the NCAA All-Regional team.
Zaffiro had a four-year career at Penn, going 13-8 with a 4.05 ERA in 44 appearances, 37 of which were starts. He pitched 198.0 innings and H, the second-highest total in program history and one behind Craig Connolly’s 226.
Zaffiro’s agreement with the Yankees follows a successful week for Quaker representation in professional baseball, which included the Chicago White Sox drafting Jackson Appel (Round 6, Pick 169) on Monday and the Philadelphia Phillies drafting Eli Trop (Round 16, Pick 492) on Tuesday.
He is the second former Penn baseball player to play in the Yankees organization, following RHP Jake Cousins ENG’17, who recently struck out five batters in a row against the Tampa Bay Rays.
