Yankees Draft Review Pt. 3: What's the Deal With all These Pitchers?

They picked 24 of them!   They only had 39 picks.   They started out picking 5 in a row, and they'll have to sign all of them or they'll lose their slot money.     Then between rounds 14 and 22 they picked 9 more in a row.   That's nuts, and laughably flew in the face of the concept of BPA.   And the weird thing is, it's harder than usual to tell what they've got.

Usually,  the Yanks take some power arms, who, if everything falls into place, can be top of the rotation starters.  And if it doesn't they can become Dellin Betances.   Which is still pretty awesome.   But they really didn't get anyone like that, or even a Muriel Checo.    They went heavily with college pitching.

Their top pick was a collegiate lefty relief ace.    Something the organizations really needed and hopefully will put an end to the GM's lefty reaches for awhile.  And hopefully he can show the manager that lefties can get out righties on a regular basis if they are GOOD.  So, it could be a watershed pick.  Not bad at 55.

Their next pick, was a prep, and possibly the pick that most resembled what they have been doing in the draft since about 2006.  He's a big preppy kid from MA. with two good pitches and a projectable body.   In fact, Austin is so preppy, he stayed in High School an extra year, and is now 19.    That's actually not exactly accurate. He had bone spurs during his junior and senior years, and thus did a season of postgrad to show what he could really do and he got it up to 97.  

(UPDATE on DeCarr: He's getting well over slot, so may end up being the only prep they sign.  His demand changed their budget and they must believe he's worth it because they knew it before they picked him.)

These are always exciting picks.  But, I hate to remind you, that they exactly the kind of picks we've failed to turn into consistent Yankee starters since Andy Pettitte.  And he was signed under the old rules, and went to JuCo while haggling with the Yanks before signing a record contract.   So it's been a while and Austin needs a change up.  Maybe Chase Whitley can teach him one.

The next pick was a collegiate LHP starter, Jordan Montgomery.   Jordan is big, but doesn't throw hard.  He does seem to have good control, and does get swings and misses with his change and bad contact.  They say his upside is a #4 starter.

So was it a bad pick if he's "just" a number 4?  Um, hell to the no.  A number 4 pitcher can rack up wins with a good team.  In fact, many mistakes have been made in free agency by bad teams giving number 4 types bigger contracts and expecting them to be #2's or #1's for them.  A solid 4 can keep it going for a good team.

So, I really like this pick, and back in the `80s and `90s he would have gone a lot higher than the 4th round.  Back then, they'd take any lefty who could throw 88 and get guys out,   They were all looking for the next Glavine, because he made the game so simple.

In the 5th they took RHP Jordan Foley, whom they had taken before as a prep.   They love them some  Jordan Foley, so it will be interesting to see what they can get out of him.  He throws hard with a power arsenal that includes a fastball, slider, split change and cutter.  As long as he has that good fastball, they'll probably be tempted to throw him in the pen, but it would be great to see them get him some development.

Speaking of which, have we noticed a Gil Patterson effect yet?  T'would be nice.

In the 6th they took Jonathan Holder, the righty relief ace from Mississippi State.  He's lower 90s but has guts and might be good for a non-ceremonial closer role in the future.   Meaning he could could in in the ninth after Betances, or Ramirez, or Burawa, or Lindgren puts out the fire in 7 and 8.   Or maybe he could be the first guy out of the pen and close the 6th?   Seems gutsy and has pitchability.

Then they chilled for awhile and took a bunch of high OBP position guys, who will be taught to pull balls into the short porch.

And that rapped up day 2.

On day three they showed they weren't kidding around about the pitching.

In round 11 they grabbed another college pitcher, Matt Borens from Eastern Illinois.  This is the guy who is 6'7" and 185.   First of all, they better buy that young man some food.  Secondly, I'm not really sure what this guy has got.   He keeps a really low internet profile.    But, everything about him screams projectable, and there must be something they like there.

Next they picked two fat collegiate 1B's with crazy power and OBP

But they knew they were neglecting pitching, so they popped,  and would now have to pick nine in a row. Sean Carley out of West Virginia was first of the nine.  He's probably got a very interesting story, having started out at the Air Force Academy before ending up at the just about diametrically opposed WVU.  It will be interesting to see what he brings to the Yanks, other than his story.  UPDATE:  This Guy Has Signed.

Next they took a third lefty, in Andrew Chin from BC.   This guy has weird numbers, his rates are odd, but he somehow holds opposing batters down to low BA's.  He somehow lowers babip, cause he's not striking everybody out, and he doesn't have break your bat velo.

This guy seems to be a crafty lefty.  We've had a few of them over the years, and they tend to coast through A ball, before finding their Waterloos at AA.  We'll see if he can beat history.

Worried that Andrew might not beat history, they took another lefty. Derek Callahan out of Gonzaga.   Derek's a larger font and thus has more projection, but it's unclear what he offers beyond left-handedness at this point.  A little more research has shown me: he offers versatility and upside.   He was both a pitcher and utility guy for the Zags.   This speaks well.

Bill James, who was cogent for a long time before selling his soul to the roid addles Sox, pointed out many times that the lefties who make it tend to be overwhelmingly big or very athletic.  And Callahan seems to be a good athlete, and perhaps can turn into something.    Interesting guy.

Next, whoever runs the prep patrol in the Yankee war room, woke up and screamed, "Pick Garrett Cave!" and they did.   Cave is thought to be raw, but he is known to also be one of the youngest players in the draft and one who's already hitting 93.  Plus he's 6'4 and 180 with a lot of growth potential.

If they are feeling Gil Patterson, this is a guy they will spend some of the savings to bring in.  He's got a Florida International commit, and the Yanks should consider just buying the school,  if Cave looks like he's not gonna sign.   Seriously, this is the kind of potential they should be after every year.  Not gonna lose sleep over it, but they should get this done.

Next they took another LHP in Justin Kamplain for Alabama. This guy was a starter and reliever with some K's for Alabama.   He was drafted by the Cards in `11, though he's just 6'0" and 180.  There must be something there, and we'll have to see what it is.

Next they took Joe Harvey out of Pitt.  He's a stocky righty who offers starting and bullpen options for the Yanks.  We'll see how he does in short season.

Corey Holmes was next.  A tall righty at 6'6" 200 out of Concordia in Texas.  We'll see what he's got, too.  These last two picks were seniors selections with some good things about them.  UPDATE:  This guy has signed.

Porter Clayton was next.   He's a good sized LHP  6'4, 215 out of the increasingly well regarded Oregon program.  He's one of these sophomore eligibles, which though it only means he's old for his class, it has somehow lead to bigger bonuses in the baseball draft.  He may not be worth signing.

They finished off their 9 straight with Jake Kelzer.  Jake was a D1 Swimmer.  He's 6'8" and 230 and has strange mechanics, but already gets it up into the low 90s as he develops.  He's an interesting project if they think they can get him to stand tall and stay back out there.

They then took a breather and took some senior bats.  One's a C, they'll need catchers.

They dipped their shoulders and they were back in their pitchers groove, take Lee Casas a 6'7" 255 righty out of USC.  Former JuCo guy.  He's out of eligibility so he'll be a Yankee.  And he better throw hard.

Next, they took Mariano Rivera.   Mo II is small, but so was his dad.   We'll just see what happens here.  His dad wants him to stay in school.

Then they took Jorge Perez, a RHP with some nice pitchability. They think he worked through tendinitis this year, but before that he was working 92/3 and had some other pitches.  Intriguing pick.

Then they took another CF,  followed there more righty pitchers in a row.

First they took, Jordan Ramsey,  6'4" 200 from UNC-Wilmington.   I think he was drafted before and has a good arm.  We'll see if he wants to sign.

Next, they took David Graybill who's 6'4" and 225.  He's another DES, so we'll see if he wants to sign.

Then they took Matt Wotherspoon, another senior pitcher out of Pitt.   He's not as big as Harvey, but had some good results.

The Prep Patrol was up and took a catcher they won't sign.

Then, the  Prep Patrol screamed "Take Will Gattis!"  So they drafted Will Gattis, from Brentwood HS in TN.  He's only 6'1" and 185, so there must be some behind the scenes news on him, like a big velo report from a workout.  He's probably the consolation consideration if we don't get Cave.

Next they took an old 2b, named Lindemuth.

And with their final pitching they took a cat named Andre Del Bosque.  This guy has had TJS and a shoulder, but he's still after it, and his dream probably came true yesterday.

So that's the deal with most of them.  Some good arms, some pitchability guys and some guys they probably won't sign.  They probably don't have room for all of them.  Later we'll look at the position players.