Yelding was a star athlete at Fairhope High School in Fairhope, Alabama and was later drafted in the 1st round of the 1984 MLB amateur draft out of Chipola College by the Toronto Blue Jays. He made an immediate impact with his speed and arm, stealing 93 bases and adding 19 outfield assists in his first 200 games with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays and Kinston Blue Jays.\n', '

Because of his strong arm, he was moved to shortstop the following season with the Ventura County Gulls. Although he found success with the bat and on the basepaths, hitting .280 with 41 steals, he made 58 fielding errors. He divided the 1987 year between the Myrtle Beach Blue Jays and Double-A Knoxville Blue Jays, where he stole a combined 83 bases, though his fielding did not improve as he made another 59 errors.\n', '

Despite being a liability in the infield, his prowess on the basepaths earned him a promotion to the AAA Syracuse Chiefs where he was moved to second base in an attempt to alleviate his fielding woes. Although his play in the field was still suspect, he did cut his season error total to 35 while hitting .250 and stealing 59 bases for the Chiefs.\n', '

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