The Yankees and the MLB Draft (Pt. 2)

by James Vlietstra

June 26, 2023

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This article continues the study I shared in PART ONE of The Yankees and the MLB Draft.

2012-2019

I would love to say that the Yankees got their act together and did a complete 180, turned it around, and started hitting on all cylinders when it comes to the draft. However, I am afraid to say that did not occur. Although there is a chance that someone drafted during this time could go down as the Yankees' greatest drafted player ever, which would be a great achievement. (More on that soon.)

In 2012, MLB reduced the number of rounds from 50 to 40. Most years, the Yankees signed around 75% of their picks. For these years I am going to list the positions that were targeted. A clear trend develops in which the Yankees go from drafting about 50% pitchers to drafting pitchers 65-70% of the time.

2012

Signed 28 of 41 picks

1st round pick Ty Henson (30th overall) 0 MLB games

7 players that signed made the Majors and combined for 1.7 War

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

14 RHP, 7 LHP, 11 OF, 3 C, 2 1B, 1 2B, 3 SS

2013

Signed 31/42

1st round pick Eric Jagielo (26th overall) - 0 MLB games

1st round pick Aaron Judge (32nd overall) - 778 MLB games (and counting...)

1st round pick Ian Clarkin (33rd overall) - 0 MLB games

8 players that signed made the Majors and totaled 45.9 WAR (led by Aaron Judge (39.3) and Nestor Cortes (6).)

Josh Pettitte - Did Not Sign

Cal Quantrill - Did Not Sign (6.4 WAR)

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

14 RHP, 7 LHP, 10 OF, 1 C, 3 2B, 4 SS, 3 3B

2014

Signed 26/39 picks

7 signed players Made the Majors and totaled 9.3 WAR (led by Jordan Montgomery (9.9).)

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

18 RHP, 6 LHP, 4 OF, 2 C, 4 1B, 2 2B, 2 SS, 1 3B

2015

Signed 35/41

1st round pick James Kaprielian (16th Overall) - 63 MLB games

1st round pick Kyle Holder (30th overall) - 0 MLB games

8 signed players made MLB totaling -0.4 WAR

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

20 RHP, 4 LHP, 5 OF, 2 C, 4 1B, 2 2B, 2 SS, 2 3B

2016

Signed 28/40

1st round pick Blake Rutherford (18th overall) - 0 MLB games

7 signed players have reached MLB totaling -1.2 WAR

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

17 RHP, 6 LHP, 10 OF, 3 C, 2 1B, 1 1B, 1 3B

2017

Signed 23/40

1st round pick Clarke Schmidt (16th overall) - 50 MLB games (and counting)

7 signed players combined for 9.4 WAR (led by Garrett Whitlock (5.4).)

Tristan Beck - Did Not Sign

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

23 RHP, 5 LHP, 5 OF, 2 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 3 SS

Also drafted - Matt Sauer is currently the organization’s #20 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

2018

Signed 34/40

1st round pick Anthony Seigler (23rd overall) - 0 MLB games

1 signed player has made MLB for a -0.3 WAR

Austin Wells - Did Not Sign

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

24 P, 4 OF, 6 C, 1 1B, 2 2B, 1 SS, 2 3B

Also drafted - Sean Boyle is currently the organization’s #27 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

2019

Signed 30/41

1st round pick Anthony Volpe (30th overall) - 76 MLB games (and counting)

1st round pick TJ Sikkema (38th overall) - 0 MLB games

4 signed players made MLB totaling 2.2 WAR

Jack Leiter - Did Not Sign

The Yankees drafted players at the following positions:

26 P, 5 OF, 2 C, 3 1B, 3 2B, 1 SS, 1 3B

The Yankees had 11 first round picks over this 8 year span. Seven have not played a single MLB game. The other four have had varying degrees of success. They include a pitcher currently in their starting rotation, their rookie starting shortstop, and the recently signed $360M man.

I was wondering how Aaron Judge ranks among the Yankees’ greatest drafted players of all time. There have been 58 amateur drafts held since its inception in 1965. Of the players that have signed, a total of nine have cracked a WAR of 40+.

These are:

• Derek Jeter 71.3

• Andy Pettitte 60.2

• Fred McGriff 52.6

• Ron Guidry 47.8

• Thurman Munson 46.1

• Brett Gardner 44.1

• Jorge Posada 42.7

• Don Mattingly 42.4

• Al Leiter 40

That works out to once every 6.4 years that the Yankees draft a player that produces at this level.

Aaron Judge currently has 39.3 WAR and will need about 10 more typical games to join these other legends. Of the players that the Yankees drafted but did not sign, Fred Lynn is the highest at 50.2. Lynn was drafted by the Yankees in 1970, but signed after the Red Sox signed him in 1973. He is followed by Gerrit Cole (2008) and Justin Turner (2005).

Some of the notable picks that were used as trade chips in recent years are:

Josh Smith, Ken Waldichuk, Hayden Wesneski, Keegan Curtis, Frank German, Canaan Smith, Glenn Otto, Janson Junk, Blake Rutherford, Nick Solak, Nick Nelson, and Taylor Widener.

It’s actually starting to feel like the last few drafts listed have been more productive. It’s starting to be seen at the Major League level but the organization has been able to develop players that other teams see as desirable and can be used to bolster the Yankees.

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More to come in the next installment of this series...