MLB Draft: The Yanks drafted well.

The MLB First-Year Player Draft kicked off on Thursday and the Yankees did themselves some good by selecting three times in the 1st round, thanks to some compensations help for losing Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano. Here are all three 1st round picks:

Pick #26: Eric Jagielo, 3rd baseman, Notre Dame.

Jagielo is a 6-foot-3, left handed third baseman coming out of Notre Dame. Below is what ESPN's Draft Expert, Keith Law, had to say about him:

Jagielo is one of the more polished college bats in the class, valuable even though he doesn't have the explosive tools of Hunter Renfroe or huge raw power of Kris Bryant. Jagielo loads his hands very high and deep, creating a longer path to the ball, compensating with strong hands and forearms that allow him to make solid contact even when he has to fully extend his arms to cover the pitch low and away. He's quick enough to keep his hands inside the ball and doesn't project to have trouble with better velocity. 

In the field, he's an adequate defender at third with arm strength, agile enough to stay at the position even though he's going to be among the bigger third basemen in pro ball. I could see him as a 20-homer guy with mid-.300s OBPs who plays solid-average defense in a few years, which would make him an everyday guy who could make an All-Star Game or two.

In other words, we could be looking as the guys who replaces Alex Rodriguez. Read my column from yesterday about if we've actually seen the last of A-Rod.

Pick #32: Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State.

With their 2nd pick in the late 1st round, the Yankees went big and draft a 6-foot-7, 255 pound center fielder from Fresno State. Here's what Keith Law thinks:

"Judge is taller than any outfielder in major league history except for Frank Howard (also listed as 6-foot-7, 255 pounds on Baseball Reference), but is very athletic for a guy his size, an average runner with a surprisingly short swing given his height. 

He wraps his bat behind his head when he's finished his load, which usually adds length to the swing, but the path for his hands from there to the zone is very short; it's more of a concern that he doesn't have his top hand fully extended until the bat is most of the way through the zone. Like a lot of taller hitters who set up high, he prefers the ball up in the zone, and the huge raw power he shows in BP doesn't always appear in games because he doesn't get under the ball enough to drive it out. Judge won't play center in pro ball but is an average runner who should have above-average range in either corner, with a plus arm to handle right, along the lines of Jason Heyward's defensive profile." 

Although he's very athletic for his size, I don't see him playing in center field much longer. He could be playing in left or right by the time he reaches the big league level.

Pick #33: Ian Clarkin, LHP, High School in San Diego.

For their final 1st round pick of the night, the Yankees selected 6-foot-2, 190-pound high school lefty pitcher out of San Diego. Here's Keith Law's thoughts:

"Clarkin doesn't do it easy, but he's a good-sized lefty who throws hard and can spin a breaking ball, so even with some serious inconsistency this spring, he's likely to go off the board in the top 50 picks, maybe even late in the first round. Clarkin is typically 90-93, getting on top of the ball well for some downhill plane, and sometimes showing some two-seam tailing action as well. His curveball is hard with tight rotation, 11/5 break, and good depth, now at higher velocity than it was last summer as well. His change is still a show-me offering, which he'll have to improve to remain a starter. 

His delivery isn't prototypical, with some effort involved, a very high leg kick followed by a kick-out stride and a stiff landing. The raw material is very strong, so even with some late-season inconsistency he should be among the first few prep lefties drafted."

Here's the kicker. Clarkin hated the Yankees as a kid. How bad did he hate him? Well his clip on MLB Networks Draft show, Clarkin stated that his favorite moment was when the Diamondbacks defeated the Yankees in the 2001 world series.

 "I cannot stand the Yankees so I was actually in tears I was so happy," Clarkin said.

Of course he said that he no longer hates them and he'll try to bring his father over the Yankee Empire. Come on over! You won't regret it. Unless you dislike A-Rod, of course.

What did you think about how the Yankees drafted in the 1st round? Comment below or tell me on Twitter, @GavinEwbank2013.