GUIDERAIL FEATURE STORY: Trey Amburgey

All Trey Amburgey has ever wanted to do in life is be a major league baseball player. His parents remember him picking up a toy bat for the first time at age two and saying as much. Since then, he has been singularly focused on the goal of making the majors.

At the dawn of the 2021 season, the 26-year-old is one step away from realizing that dream. After a successful year with the RailRiders in 2019, Amburgey has started the year strong, hitting three home runs on the season-opening road trip in Syracuse.

But after a year away from competitive baseball because of the COVID-19 pandemic, returning to competitive play in 2021 is an opportunity the RailRiders outfielder is grateful for.

“I can’t really describe it,” Amburgey said of how it feels to be back playing baseball after the lost year in 2020. “It’s like you know your career is not over yet, it just stinks not playing the whole year. Just being able to go back out there again is just like, it’s a good feeling to be able to compete and play real games.”

In a time where top prospects are coveted by organizations and fans alike, RailRiders outfielder Trey Amburgey has climbed his way through the Yankees farm system without much fanfare. His performance on the field has merited multiple All-Star honors, yet there’s little hype around the hard-hitting outfielder.

“That’s been my whole thing even kinda through high school and college, kinda under the radar,” Amburgey said. “It’s frustrating to know I’ve performed but I still haven’t gotten that kinda look, I’ve kinda learned to live with it and let the chips fall where they may.”

In his first season in Triple-A with the RailRiders in 2019, he posted a breakout season, setting career highs in hits, runs, doubles and home runs, while ranking in the top-5 among Yankees minor leaguers in five categories.

While some of that was partially owing to a change in the baseball used in Triple-A during that season, but the underlying numbers show a refined approach at the plate. His walk rate climbed while his strikeouts held steady. That adds up to a selectively aggressive approach that allowed the 24-year-old to post his best season.

“The Yankees gave me a few things to work on at the plate,” Amburgey said of his goals for 2021. “Mostly staying on the ball a little bit longer to be able to [go to the opposite field more], and laying off the pitcher’s pitch and staying more in my zone.”

This kind of performance was what the Yankees imagined when they drafted Amburgey out of St. Petersburg College in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. His combination of good speed and a power bat made him the kind of player that the Bronx Bombers covet. He has also shown the defensive versatility to man all three outfield spots, though he is most commonly found in left or right field.

During the pandemic, Trey spent time at home keeping himself in shape. The apartment where he and his wife live during the offseason is not far from St. Petersburg College, so when the state of Florida began to open up he would go there and take batting practice.

He also kept busy by adopting a 10-week-old puppy named Kody. “That took a lot of time,” he joked.

When spring training rolled around, Amburgey found himself getting plenty of playing time with the Yankees, but was hitless in 10 at-bats. An encouraging sign, though, was that he drew six walks and struck out only five times. All things considered, it wasn’t a bad showing for his first games against live competition since 2020 spring training.

Amburgey knows the road is tough for him to break into the major leagues in an already crowded Yankees outfield. New York has built great depth at the position, and even if he does everything the team wants, there is no guarantee that he could crack an outfield in the Bronx that already includes Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, Giancarlo Stanton and Brett Gardner.

But if the past few seasons have taught him anything, it is to expect the unexpected and always be ready when opportunity knocks. If he focuses on his game and playing well, Amburgey will be in a position to succeed at the next level. And when that call does come, “It would be a dream come true.”