Yankees reach agreement with third round pick RHP Austin DeCarr

According to NE Baseball Journal, the Yankees have reached an agreement with their third round pick of the 2014 MLB Draft, RHP Austin DeCarr. He is expected in Tampa tomorrow to complete the deal, which will be twice his slot value.

DeCarr, is one of the few prep player's they drafted, and considering he needed to be paid twice his slot to sign, it's no surprise they drafted so few other prep players.  The Yankees must have known he was going to be expensive and stayed away from other tough signs because of him. DeCarr is considered a good get in this round, and is a bit more polished than most kids his age.

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Yankees Draft: Days Two and Three Recap

11^th round 332^nd pick: Matthew Borens RHP Eastern Illinois       

This pick really solidified the difference between this year’s and last year’s draft. Their first day three pick last year was Kendall Coleman, a young outfielder, who is a risky upside type pick. He may be a lottery ticket, but fans like when teams take lottery tickets in the draft. Though there isn’t as much information available on Borren’s it doesn’t sound like he has that type of upside, but is a safer pick. It isn’t as big of change as some are making it seem, but they clearly changed their philosophy a bit and are sticking with college kids. He is a big 6’7’’ pitcher who can add muscle, so there is some intrigue here, it’s just not the same level of mystery as taking a high school kid.

12^th round 362^nd pick: Chris Gittens 1B Grayson County College                

Rated as the 438^th best player in the draft, Gittens, is a two-way player that scouts like better as a hitter due to his tremendous power potential. BA states that he has easy raw power, and some natural hitting ability. He’s slimming down, but his size still limits him to first base. Power is going down throughout baseball, so I like this pick. Sure they draft several first baseman, and they have Bird, and O’Brien, but it makes sense to load up on power hitting prospects,

13^th round 392^nd pick: Bo Thompson 1B The Citadel SC    392     

Like Gittens, Thompson is known for his power potential, he doesn’t seem to have the same hitting ability but he does have a nice combination of power and patience. He already signed for just 60 k, and is slated to begin his Yankee career in Charleston. Like Gittens, he is too big to play anywhere but first, so it will interesting to see what they do, once Ford comes off the DL.

14^th round 422^nd pick: Sean Carley RHP West Virginia    

Ranked as BA’s 388^th best draft prospect, the Kenny Powers lookalike is an intriguing pick. Carley, has already agreed to join the team, and should begin the year in Staten Island. He is a three pitch pitcher, who may be best suited for the pen. He throws an 88-94 MPH fastball, a slider with average potential, and a raw changeup.  He already had Tommy John surgery, which is why he is a 5^th year senior, and why he is a bit rawer than other college guys.

15^th round 452^nd pick: Andrew Chin LHP Boston College               

Was ranked as BA 399^th best prospect, but didn’t have a scouting report. When he was drafted in 2011 (5^th round by the Jays), this was his scouting report.

"Chin might be the most complete pitcher at this point. Maybe he's not the same type of thrower or class as these other guys -- he tends to be in the upper 80's with his fastball, good in and out, good with the changeup -- but he understands the craft and is willing to work at it. He's a classic left-hander with good feel for how to set hitters up." Per ESPN

He might throw harder now, especially since he has recovered from Tommy John surgery. Either way, he sounds like a pretty interesting selection.

               

16^th round 482^nd pick: Derek Callahan LHP Gonzaga, WA              

In 2012 Callahan was ranked as the 9^th best prospect in the West Coast Summer league, but didn’t play up to his potential during the subsequent college season. He is a 4-pitch pitcher, with an 89-91 MPH fastball, a 78-81 MPH slider, a 74-76 MPH curveball, and an 80-82 MPH change. His slider is his strikeout pitch.

17^th round, 512^th pick: Garrett Cave RHP South Sumter HS, FL    

With the 17^th pick of the draft, the Yankees finally took their first real tough sign. Cave is a pretty good prospect and was ranked as the 116^th best prospect by BA. His fastball jumped to 93 MPH this season, and has led him to receive national attention. BA states that

 “He has a loose arm, athleticism and feel for spinning a curveball. He doesn’t use his changeup often but it flashes average. Cave will need to throw more strikes to remain a starter but has the attributes to do so if he cleans up his delivery, which has some east-west movement and a head whack. That also means his arm slot is not consistent.”

18^th round 542^nd pick: Justin Kamplain LHP Alabama       

Yet another college lefty Kamplain has had success in college and in the Cape Cod League. Kamplain put up the following stats in what could be his final season in Alabama: 90 IP, 69 K, 31 BB, 2.90 ERA, 1.07 WHIP. He is primarily a fastball changeup guy. His fastball sits in the 88-91 range. His change is slowly becoming his best pitch.  In addition to these two pitches, he also sprinkles in a curveball from time-to-time.

19^th round 572^nd pick: Joe Harvey RHP University of Pittsburgh                 

Ranked as the 468^th best prospect by BA. Harvey is new to starting. He has only been a starting pitcher this season. BA had this to say about him “He pitches at 90-92 mph and touches 94 with sink and fastball life. His control has improved significantly. While he has a durable build at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, his lighter secondary stuff prompts some scouts to project him as a reliever. His curveball flashes average but plays well below that. His changeup also needs development.”

20^th round 602^nd pick: Corey Holmes RHP Concordia University, TX         

BA’s 13^th best prospect in the Mid-Atlantic Conference. He has already signed with the team, and should be making his debut shortly.

21^st round pick 632: Porter Clayton LHP Oregon               

Porter is an interesting pick, as he barely pitched the past few years; as a Mormon he served his mission. He tried to make up for lost time this season. Overall, he has a good delivery, and has three pitches. His fastball is in the upper 80s/low 90s. His curveball is tends to sit in the upper 70s and his changeup is in the low 80s. The fact that he has pitched so little makes him a bit more intriguing to me, at worst his fastball, and curve combination could lead to a role in the pen, but I’m pretty curious to see if that’s where he starts.

22^nd round pick 662:  Jake Kelzer RHP Indiana

Ranked as the 486^th best prospect by BA, and the 12^th best prospect in Indiana, Jake is a definite relief prospect. He only has one above-average pitch, which is his slider. He has 90-91 MPH fastball which is rather straight. He did strikeout 44 batters in 32 innings, but I’m not sure of the extent of his strike-out ability, unless he throws a plus slider. He was a two-sport athlete, as he was on the swim team, so maybe his stuff will improve now that he only needs to focus on one sport. He was also injured, and is a redshirt freshman, so he doesn’t have a lot of experience.

23^rd round 692^nd pick:  Will Toffey 3B Salisbury School, CT           

Was DeCarr’s teammate, and hopefully will remain his teammate. Toffey is best described as an infielder, though he was playing short, and fits best at third. He has an above-average arm. He isn’t very quick out of the box, though he seems to be getting faster. He has good bat speed, and has decent power that should improve. He was a hockey player for a while, so he hasn’t really focused solely on hitting. He is committed to Vanderbilt, so he thought of as a tough sign, though maybe DeCarr will help. He was one the teams few prep picks, and he is a player I hope they sign. They didn’t draft many prep players so it will be disappointing if they can’t sign one of the best one’s that they drafted.  He was ranked as the 353^rd best prospect by BA, and the 4^th best in the state.

24^th round 772^nd pick: Dominic Jose CF Stanford       

Jose is the son of former Yankee Felix Jose, and was a toolsy outfielder when he first entered Standford. The school didn’t really offer him the opportunity to showcase his tools, and now the Yankees have to personally attempt to fix his swing. He has good power, and should be an adequate corner outfielder. The Yankees have a little project on their hands, as he has to prove he can hit. Overall this is a pretty good pick, he was ranked as the 261^st best pre-draft prospect by Minor League Ball, and was ranked as the 461^st best prospect by BA. The Yankees didn’t draft many position player prospects, or outfield prospects, so he should have an opportunity to play with the team.

25^th round 752^nd pick: Dylan Barrow RHP Univ. of Tampa              

Yet another college pitcher with little experience. He was an infielder in high school, and only began to pitch three years ago. In those three years he has learnt to throw a breaking ball, and throws a mid-90s fastball. I couldn’t find a lot of information on him, but he has reached 96 MPH in the past, and that alone makes him an interesting prospect.  Last season the Yankees took two relatively unknown kids in Ryan Butler and Nick Green. Neither signed, but were both picked a lot earlier this season. The Yankees have shown the ability to find some hidden gems in the past, and hopefully Barrow is another one.

26^th round 782^nd pick: Collin Slaybaugh C Washington State        

His academics are very good for a student-athlete and was the PAC-12 Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He a 4.0 GPA in college, which suggests he is somewhat intelligent. His smarts and character might be better than his actual baseball tools. Though he did have a slash line of .299/.329/.364 in his final year. That’s not bad, but he’d need to show more power to be regarded as a major league player. Perhaps his smarts, and defense will allow him to become a backup catcher. Pitchers trust guys like him behind the plate.

27^th round 812^th pick: Griffin Gordon OF Jacksonville State

Had a .968 OPS in his final season, and showed a bit of speed with ten bases. Hopefully this means he is a true outfielder. There isn’t much info on him, so it’s hard to tell what kind of pick this was. It’s worth noting that he is a college senior, and was rated as the 172^nd best outfield prospect by BA.

28^th round 842^nd pick:  Lee Casas RHP USC           

Another player who is a bit of an unknown, had decent numbers as a two-way player.

29^th round 872^nd pick: Mariano Rivera RHP Iona                

Opposite of a no name player, Marino is the son of the greatest closer of all-time. His dad wants him to finish school, but he seems ready to leave. He throws a low 90s fastball and a slider. He doesn’t have a cutter. He reportedly has a nice easy delivery. I don’t think legacy picks are a bad thing, but would’ve thought that this is a tad bit early, I guess not.

30^th round 902^nd pick: Jorge Perez RHP Grand Canyon University

Baseball America ranked Perez as the 328^th best prospect in the draft. So he’s a pretty good value pick at 902, assuming they can sign him. The reason that he dropped this far was that he suffered from shoulder tendinitis and teams were scared off. He has a fastball that sits around 93 MPH, a slider that sits around 80 MPH, and a changeup that sits below 80 MPH. His fastball has good sink to it. BA states that his change is an above average offering, but his slider is not. He profiles best as a reliever.

31^st round 932^nd pick: Devyn Bolasky CF UC Riverside, CA            

Another scrappy outfielder, but at least this one can run. He is a contact orientated hitter that doesn’t walk or strikeout much. He has little power, but a lot of speed. He might be able to become a leadoff hitter if he gets his average up there. These were his stats last year: 54 games, 30 runs, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 26 RBI, 14 SB (7 CS), 13 BB, 18 K, .336 AVG, .370 OBP, .398 SLG%, .768 OPS.

32^nd round 962^nd pick: Jordan Ramsey RHP UNC Wilmington

Ramsey is an interesting pick because he is coming off of a down season that was riddled with injuries. These injuries may have affected his stock. Overall he was ranked as BA 288^th best draft prospect, but that might be undervaluing him a bit if he rebounds with the Yankees. He had blister and triceps injuries, and this really affected his performance he was much better last year. He still might end up being just a reliever as his secondary pitches aren’t that great, but he has a good 92-95 MPH fastball when healthy. He can throw a potentially average change, and a slider that occasionally looks good. If he signs this would be a pretty good pick as he ranked pretty highly, and probably only fell because of his injuries.             

33^rd pick 992^nd pick David Graybill RHP Arizona State University               

Yet another pitcher with little pitching experience, he was a two-way player out of high school but stuck with the bat in college. Now the Yankees are going to try to make him a pitcher again, this is very similar to what they did with Chase Whitley. I like this pick, he comes from an athletic family; his father was an Expo minor leaguer. I trust the team when it comes to these types of picks.

34^th round 1022^nd pick: Matt Wotherspoon RHP University of Pittsburgh             

Wottherspoon is a three pitch pitcher that could work of the rotation of the pen. He throws a mid-90’s fastball, a good breaking ball and a promising changeup. Hopefully he will be given a chance to start. It’s a bit surprising that he’d still be in school, he seems to have a decent three pitch mix, and he was ranked as the number 28^th best pitcher among college seniors.

35^th round 1052 pick Christopher Hudgins C Valhalla HS, CA       

Hit over .400 last year in 35 games, also had 12 homers and 2 doubles. Seems like a decent hitting prep player. And it’s really about time they took another prep player. Might be a tough sign but he played on their scout team, so maybe they can use that connection

36^th round 1082 round   William Gaddis  RHP Brentwood HS, TN                

Gaddis was just one of three high school pitchers taken in this draft, and he is pretty raw. He throws a fastball that has yet to reach 90 MPH, a slider and a changeup, he has good mechanics, and his fastball and slider have shown potential. People are really down on the fact the team didn’t draft many prep pitchers, but if they can get Gaddis, Cave and DeCarr, they would actually have signed as many prep pitchers as they did last year. Plus I think Gaddis might have a bit more upside than Alex Polanco, though it’s hard to tell at this point.

37^th round pick 1112: Ryan Lindemuth 2B College of William and Mary, VA         

Lindemuth is a high contact second baseman that had a .446 OBP in his senior year. He also showed some power slugging .525. He already signed a contract with the team and will begin the season in Staten Island. Normally college seniors are just organizational types, so I don’t expect much. However it’s worth noting that the Pirates drafted him in the 20^th round last year, so maybe he just had a down season. I like that he signed quickly. These types of players are important for a system.

38^th round 1142^nd pick:   Andre Del Bosque RHP University of Houston - Victoria

Bosque is a 5^th year senior, and has already undergone Tommy John surgery, he’s also had other arm troubles. Also missed some time with an oblique injury. Can throw a low-to-mid-90s fastball. There isn’t much more information on him available.

39^th round 1172^nd pick:  Cameron Warren 1B Carl Albert HS, OK

Had solid numbers on the mound and at the plate but suffered a thumb injury this season, which hurt his stock. He is has a powerful build and may be underrated pick. First-base high school prospects aren’t that exciting but he has power, and has hit his entire career. Last year they drafted and signed a 1B/3B prospect in Drew Bridges, and he seems like a similar type of pick. Bridges was rated as the better player, but the thumb injury really hurt Warren. He is committed to the University of Oklahoma, but the Yankees may be able to break that.

40^th round 2012^th pick:  Madison Stokes SS A.C. Flora HS, SC       

With their final pick of the draft Yankees may have selected their promising selection of the day. Stokes was ranked as the 347^th best prospect in the draft, and is considered an unsignable player. He even tweeted that he is going to college. He might need to move to second, and he would have a good bat at that position.

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Yankees Draft: Day One and Two Recap

Last season the Yankees system really faltered. There was no one in AAA, or even AA, that could come up and help the big league team with injuries. This led many to demand significant changes. People wanted heads to roll, and some even wanted Damon Oppenheimer and his scouting staff released. But the team made very little changes to their main draft/development structure. They did get a few new names, but the big boys kept their jobs. Everything seemed to stay the same, but this year’s draft shows that’s not exactly true.

Day 2 of the Yankees draft showed that the team may not have changed personnel this off-season, but they were pressured to change draft philosophies. According to Brian Cashman the team would focus on college arms over prep arms if everything was equal. This is a pretty major change as the team used to really like taking prep arms. College arms are a bit less exciting, but they are generally the safer options and a team that wants results might want to go that route.

The team has had a lot more success with college arms, they drafted Adam Warren, David Phelps, and Chase Whitley out of college, and all are playing big roles on this year’s team. So it makes sense for them to change their focus. Perhaps the change is just a coincidence, as they don’t exactly have a lot of free money lying around, due to the loss of their first round picks. Most of the most exciting prep players in this year’s draft will require a sizable bonus to keep them off college.

Either way this is what they did in the first two days of the draft.

Second Round (55th): Jacob Lindgren, LHP (Mississippi State)

With their first pick in the 2014 MLB Draft the Yankees selected Jacob Lindgren. Lindgren is a college reliever, and in many ways this pick set the theme of the Yankees draft. The Yankees used this draft to take mostly college pitchers who should move through the system quickly. The A’s are a good example of a team that uses this strategy well.

Lindgren was a pretty good pick, and he could potentially be up in the majors at the end of this season. He was regarded as one of the best relievers in the draft, and he had an insane 16.3 k/9 rate in 55.1 innings this season. He really is a special arm, and while the team could’ve have gone for a prep player, this was a nice safe option.

He has two plus pitches a mid-90s fastball, and a curve. He should be used as a late inning high-leverage reliever, and might be able to help this team at the end of the year. Both Fred Lewis and Cesar Cabral have struggled this season, so adding a high-end lefty relief prospect really fills a need.

Third Round (91st): Austin DeCarr, RHP (Salisbury School)
The second day started off really well, as they got a guy they were reportedly looking to draft in the second round. DeCarr is one of the top of the prep prospects from the Northeast. He 19 years old, as he spent a year at prep school, because he was undrafted out of high school. He was undrafted because of an elbow injury, so it’s not that he didn’t have talent.

DeCarr’s fastball sits 92-94, and has touched 96. He has a power curveball which Baseball America claims has plus potential. His third pitch is a changeup and like most prep pitchers he needs to work on it a lot to be a major league pitch. He is the type of prep pitcher they should be taking, as he has some polish, and projectability. MLB.com describes him as a strike thrower, so he is less of a project than many prep players.

Keith Law said he was a good pick in the third round. I agree, as he was pretty highly rated, but he has to sign, and that will take a lot out of the team’s funds. That might be a big reason as to why the team finished off the day the way they did, and took fewer lottery tickets on day 3.

Fourth Round (122nd): Jordan Montgomery, LHP (South Carolina)
The fourth round, was where the Yankees college starter strategy seemed to really come into play. They took a nice college lefty, who did well in the toughest baseball conference in college baseball. Jordan Montgomery may not have the highest ceiling, but he has always outplayed his stuff, and is a good pick. Not only will he probably save the team some money to go after DeCarr, but they also got a pretty good pitcher. Montgomery should fly through this system, and might be one of the team’s better lefty starters by the end of the year. He would give the team yet another back-end of the rotation type lefty, joining Nik Turley, and Matt Tracy, in upper-minors.

Montgomery has throws an 87-92 MPH fastball, a curveball, a cutter, and a changeup. The changeup is his best pitch, and his fastball is an effective pitch, as it has good movement, and he can locate it really well. He needs to work on his cutter, and curve, but for now he is projected to be a back-end starter. Even if he doesn’t improve those pitches he will develop quickly and be ready for the majors relatively soon.

Fifth Round (152nd): Jordan Foley, RHP (Central Michigan)
Like I said weeks ago, this team loves going back and re-selecting players. And Foley may have been the best player to re-draft --though they did have a couple of other good options-- that’s because there are times when Foley really plays like a much better starting pitcher than his final stat line suggests. On occasion he touches 96 MPH, throws a killer slider, and has a good splitter. This combination suggests that he would be a good starter, but he often has trouble putting it all together, and occasionally loses his slider. As a 5^th rounder this is a pretty good selection, and if he’s the type of college player that they select, I don’t mind if they ignore some prep guys.  

Sixth Round (182nd): Jonathan Holder, RHP (Mississippi State)
Holder was actually the closer at Mississippi State, despite the fact that Lindgren is the better prospect. Lindgren was used for multiple innings while he was used just for the 9^th. He did well as a closer and broke the SEC record with 21 saves in 2013. With the need to save money it made a lot of sense to pick a college reliever here. So far he is the second reliever taken by the Yankees.
  
As a reliever he is pretty highly rated and was BA’s 286^th best prospect. BA states that he is a two pitch pitcher; he throws a low 90s fastball, and a low 70s curve. He attacks the zone well, and barely walks anyone.BA described him as a potential 5^th or 6^th round pick, by a performance driven team, so the Yankees taking him makes a lot of sense. The team has done a good job of developing relievers, and have so many that some might be annoyed with the selection, but if they took a prep player here they probably lose the entire slot value. This is the point of the draft that teams go for college picks, so there’s no reason to complain. Holder sounds like he can become a good major league option.

Seventh Round (212th): Mark Payton, CF (Texas)
Payton was the first non-pitcher taken by the Yankees. He is a 5’8’’ senior who did very well in the Big 12. He currently has an on-base streak of 100 games, which is a Big 12 record. He even hit a homer the other day, which is really rare for him. In many ways he resembles current Yankee Taylor Dugas, who is currently in AA. He is rated as BA’s 270^th best prospect. He should be a quick mover, and might start the year at Charleston. As a senior he should allow the Yankees to save some money, which is very important in today’s draft. By saving money here they might have enough money to sway Garret Cave or others into signing.

Eighth Round (242nd): Connor Spencer, 1B (UC-Irvine)
The 8^th round  pick is one where the more I think about it the more intrigued I become. I like that he is described as a hitting-machine. Sure he is a first baseman but truth-be-told first baseman aren’t the type of power hitters they used to be, Freeman, and Loney are both prove that you no longer need power to be a major league first baseman. Furthermore he did hit in a terrible park, and has a frame that suggests he has some untapped power. Why not take him? It’s certainly a nice change of pace, from taking a college reliever, which what they usually take in this round. Maybe he surprises people. The only problem I see with this pick is that the Yankees already have a few other first base prospects, plus they drafted more in this draft. I don’t know where he will start, but I’m confident there will be a crowd at first wherever he goes.

Ninth Round (272nd): Vince Conde, SS (Vanderbilt)
All-SEC shortstop Vince Conde, was the Yankees first up-the-middle draft selection. They usually focus on this area, but with the presence of Thairo Estrada, and Jorge Mateo in Staten Island, and with all the infielders they plan to sign in July, they ignored this area until the 9^th round. Conde is an interesting player, but mostly serves as an under-slot signing. He might not be able to stick at short, and could end up at second base. Baseball America did mention that he has quick hands, and good bat speed, and Aaron Fitt did seem to like him. So maybe there’s more to him, than most seem to think.

Tenth Round (302nd): Ty McFarland, 2B (James Madison)
McFarland was the only player on day 2 that didn’t get a quick-take profile. The reason for this is simply, that I couldn’t find enough info on him, to reach an opinion. He was a good college player, but I have no idea what his true potential is, and all I really know, is that he went to a pre-draft with the Yankees and seemed to do well-enough to get picked.

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MLB Draft: Yankees go back to school, focusing mainly on college kids

The 2014 MLB Draft has come and gone. The Yankees didn't have have a first round pick, but they still have 39 selections overall, and their draft strategy was pretty clear: college kids, and if they could pitch, all the better. Of the Yankees' 39 selections, there were 24 pitchers, nine infielders, four outfielders and two catchers -- 32 were from college and seven were high schoolers.

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MLB Draft: Yankees select 1B Bo Thompson 392nd overall

Going with a couple of big first baseman back-to-back, the Yankees used the 392 pick to take 5-10, 255 pound right-handed first baseman Bo Thompson out of The Citadel in South Carolina.

Thompson played in 56 games in college this past season, hitting 14 homeruns with 52 RBIs, while batting just under .300 at .299. It's clear the Mark Teixeira won't be around forever, so the Yankees seem to be piling up on first baseman, hoping that any one of them will break out and be their next big thing at first base.

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MLB Draft: Yankees select 1B Chris Grittens 362nd overall

With the 362nd pick (12th round) in the MLB Draft, the Yankees selected another college guy, first baseman Chris Gittens out of Grayson County College, a Junior College school.

Grittens' stat page on the official JuCo website says that he was also a pitcher in college, but the Yankees drafted him as a first baseman, so it seems like that's where he play as he tries to work his way through the farm system.

He's a big guy at 6-2, 250 pounds and hit .404 this past season with Greyson County, hitting three homeruns and driving in 42 runs in 41 games.

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MLB Draft: Yankees select RHP Matthew Borens 332nd overall

With the 332nd pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, the Yankees selected Matthew Bornes, another college pitcher, a right-hander out of Eastern Illinois. The 6-7, 195 pound righty entered Eastern Illinois as a reliever his freshman year, but converted into a starter over the next two seasons, making 15 starts in 2014 with a 3.39 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 109 innings.

As we can see here, the Yankees are going with another college pitcher, which they seem to be doing a lot of in this draft, a plan they probably had figured out going in. My guess, they would go after more college players with the hopes that they would be a little more ready and could possibly get through the system quicker than most high school players.

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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.

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Thursday's notes: A-Rod, Jeter, and the draft.

Rodriguez issues a statement:

Alex Rodriguez is still in Tampa rehabbing his surgically repaired hip, and mentioned on Thursday that he's not ready to discuss his connections with the South Miami Biogenesis clinic and the ongoing performance-enhancing drug scandal in Major League Baseball.

A-Rod on Thursday released this statement:

"Myself and others are being mentioned in a media report before the process is even concluded. I would hope this thing would follow the guidelines of our Basic Agreement. I will monitor the situation and comment when appropriate. As I have said previously, I am working out every day to get back on the field and help the Yankees win a championship. I am down here doing my job and working hard and will continue to do so until I'm back playing."

Rodriguez is just one of the suspected 20 players that Major League Baseball is looking at suspending for their involvement with Biogenesis founder and the man at the heart of this ongoing scandal, Tony Bosch.

The New York Daily News reported on Wednesday that Rodriguez denied to give Bosch financial assistance to help in his lawsuit that was filed against him in March by MLB.

"A-Rod refused to pay him what he wanted," a source told the Daily News. "Baseball was worried about that."

Apparently A-Rod denied Bosch the request of hundreds of thousands of dollars. After Rodriguez said no to his over whelming request, Bosch went to MLB and began to cooperate. Because of his cooperation, MLB will drop their lawsuit against Bosch.

Jeter to have his ankle examined:

Derek Jeter will have a CT scan on his injured left ankle and will be examined by Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C. Jeter says he hopes to be cleared to increase his baseball activities.

"Can't do anything different until I see the doctor, so absolutely no news," Jeter said. "I wish I could do more, but I can't until I go to the doctor."

Jeter had been working out at Yankee Stadium in New York, but moved his rehab program to Tampa on Thursday, to resume his recovery at the Yankees' minor league complex.

Yanks have a trio of 1st round picks:

It's draft day in the MLB, months of player scouting and evaluating are finally ready to payoff. The Yankees will have three picks in the 1st round (26th, 32nd, 33rd).

Yankees GM Brain Cashman said that the team always drafts the best players at their position and not what the team needs. He said that will be the teams plan for this year as well.

The Yankees haven't really produced a star since drafting Derek Jeter in 1992. Since then they've draft players such as Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, David Phelps, and many more.

Here is a list of every player the Yankees have used their 1st pick on, since 2000. This year, their 1st selection will be the 26th pick.

2000: David Parish, C, University of Michigan, No. 29
2001: John-Ford Griffen, OF, Florida State University, No. 23
2001: Bronson Sardinha, SS, Kamehameha HS (Honolulu, Hawaii), No. 34
2001: Jon Skaggs, P, Rice University, 42
2002: No Pick
2003: Eric Duncan, 3B, Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, NJ), No. 27
2004: Phil Hughes, P, Foothill HS (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 23
2004: Johathan Poterson, C, Chandler HS (Chandler, Ariz.), No. 37
2004: Jeff Marquez, P, Sacramento City College (Sacramento, Calif.), No. 41
2005: CJ Henry, SS, Putnam City HS (Oklahoma City), No. 17
2006: Ian Kennedy, P, USC, No. 21
2006: Joba Chamberlain, P, University of Nebraska, No. 41
2007: Andrew Brackman, P, North Carolina State University, No. 30
2008: *** Gerrit Cole, P, Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, Calif.), No. 28
2008: Jeremy Bleich, P, Stanford University, No. 44
2009: Slade Heathcott, OF, Texas High School (Texarkana, Texas), No. 29
2010: Cito Culver, SS, West Irondequoit High School (Irondequoit, New York), No. 32
2011: Dante Bichette, Jr., 3B, Orangewood Christian High School (Maitland, Fla.), No. 51
2012: Ty Hensley, P, Santa Fe High School (Edmond, Oklahoma), No. 30

***Did not sign. (This list came from ESPN New York, Yankees Blog)

For draft coverage and more on A-Rod, follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

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