Yankees Draft `13: Fancy Drafting

Tomorrow can be a very big day for the Yanks because they have three first rounders and a bigger budget than they were even using before MLB stepped in and starting handing out the team budgets.   Now, we can all see that the Yankees did not make enough use of their financial advantage in the amateur markets when they were allowed to, so that's sort of moot.   They still got some good players, but drafting where they have, they've never been able to get another Jeter, who they took with the 6th overall pick of the first round.   Even Joel Sherman understands this.

I've mentioned over the years that good teams draft for wants rather than needs, and teams should always want the best available player.   It also means that teams should take advantage of inefficiencies when they stack their boards, and thus factor in the shortsightedness of other organizations.    Under Damon Oppenheimer the Yankees have done a much better job of this than they had done during the Lin Garrett era and earlier.

In the old days, the Yanks often erred on the side of AA, which is fine to do in Football, but it baseball, it is long range suicide to draft AA and hope that they can learn to hit.    Hitting a baseball is both a skill and talent born of eye-hand coordination, weight shift and bat speed.   In the old days, the Yanks would draft football players, like Shea Morenz and hope that they could learn.  Few, if any, ever did.

Under Oppenheimer, the Yanks have have found more kids with now hitting tools than they have in other drafting eras.   And that's easy enough to scout once you give up on the idea that people can reliably be taught to hit at the professional level.   Players like David Adams, Corban Joseph, Slade Heathcott, JR Murphy, Tyler Austin, Mason Williams, Greg Bird, Jake Cave and a bunch of others could all hit when they were drafted and thus give us encouraging prospects.

On the pitching side, the Yanks have taken advantage of two basic inefficiencies.  First, college relievers are underrated, because starters are so desperately sought in the draft.  Second, college seniors are under valued, basically because they have no leverage and are cheap signings.   Of course, nothing about those two conditions means they can't pitch and the Yanks have found some that can like Adam  Warren and Matt Tracy.

Btw, age indicators are huge for position players, but not so much with pitchers.   Pitching value breaks down to one question:  can you get major leaguers out?   That's why it's not worth sweating over like it is with position guys.   Pitcher develop at different rates and all manage or rehab from injuries during their development.  That's why people say there's not such thing as a pitching prospect.  There are only pitchers who can get people out, and those that can't.

It has long made sense for the Yanks to draft preps, even though they have the most leverage,  they are the farthest away and the Yanks have always been packed with all stars.   So getting them young with the idea of grooming them through the decline of the current Yanks has been a good idea.   However; now that age is crushing the Yankee regulars, it might be time for some savvy college picks, who could either be ready to take a regular role in the next year or two or provide a band-aide for a position until a better player is acquired or comes through the system.

The Yanks have also done a good job of scouting the Northern States where development has been slowed by weather conditions, but talent pools have not necessarily been diluted.   These are the kind of kids they can draft and keep at the complex in Tampa, and in extended ST, and short season leagues till they catch up.  

Importantly, the Yanks are adding an extra GCL team when the season opens next week.  While this might auger more prep picks, and certainly more pitching picks. remember the Yanks have a bunch of kids coming over from the DSL now that visas aren't the issue they were a few years ago, so they should be able to fill two rosters without necessarily going overboard on preps in the draft.   Still, they might since they do like to send college picks to Staten Island or even Charleston and keep the prep picks in the GCL.  

Hopefully the Yanks have found some kids they want all over the diamond.   But one thing I can assure of, is that you will see a guiding intelligence behind the picks that just wasn't there before Damon Oppenheimer took over the draft.   Go Yanks!