Obviously, it’s very premature to say anything of substance, but I thought the Yanks did a fine job with their first two picks. They landed two premium up-the-middle athletes that can already hit and defend — always a highly coveted demographic. It’s the first time the Yanks have taken a position player with their first pick since they took CJ Henry in 2005, and the first time they used their first two picks on position players since Eric Duncan and Estee Harris in 2003. That’s also the last time they took high schoolers with their first two selections, the last time they kicked their draft off with three straight position players (Tim Battle was third), and the last time they went with three straight high schoolers at the outset.
The hype machine has managed to grab a hold of Slade Heathcott; I’ve seen people compare him to Josh Hamilton and Grady Sizemore already. Just … stop. He’s not those guys, not even close. If the Yankees are lucky, he’s Nate McLouth or Andre Ethier. If they’re lucky. I understand it’s human nature to get excited about things like this, and I’ve certainly been guilty of it in the past. But there’s no need to throw comps around like that. Especially since you’ll look back in two years and blast people like me for overhyping these guys. [/rant]
Here’s a roundup of this morning’s links:
- Baseball America posted a list of the best players still available going into Day Two. South Carolina prep RHP Madison Younginer would be a tremendous pick for the Yanks at #135; he’s 93-97 with a hammer breaking ball and an uber-projectable 6′-3″, 175 lb frame. I’m also a fan of Nevada HS 1B Jeff Malm, who can flat out rake. He’s stuck at first, but the hit tool is special. I’m sure plenty of teams were calling around last night to work out deals so they could grab some of these guys with their upcoming picks.
- Keith Law posted his best and worst picks from Day One. The Yanks don’t make an appearance in either, but holy schnikees did the Rockies have a tremendous haul. Tyler Matzek plus Rex Brothers plus Tim Wheeler? That’s as good as it gets right there.
- John Manuel at BA has his three winners and losers, and says the Yanks have some explainin’ to do about the JR Murphy pick since they already have a glut of catchers in the system. I don’t understand why everyone is up in arms about this, having a lot of quality catchers is a good thing. It’s not like they’re going to take playing time from each other.
- Lane Meyer ran down the players with questionable signability that are still on the board.
- Anthony DiComo previewed Day Two for the Bombers.
- Best quote from Day One comes courtesy of Carlos Beltran, who’s nephew Reymond Fuentes was selected 28th overall by the Red Sox: “I’m so happy for him. They’re poor people. He’s going to put his family in a better position.” Beltran in the fifth year of a seven year contract that will pay him $119M.
The draft resumes at noon with Round Four today. The Yanks’ next pick is #135, and then every 30 picks thereafter. It’s the 24th pick of each round. There’s no broadcast today, just Draft Tracker. Hopefully last night’s technical issues are a thing of the past. The liveblog will be up shortly.
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