Monday, June 4, 2012

Yankees Draft 2012

Congrats to Carlos Correa for being the first overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Houston Astros organization.

Congrats to Byron Buxton for being the second overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Minnesota Twins organization. 

Congrats to Mike Zunino for being the third overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Seattle Mariners organization. 

Congrats to Kevin Gausman for being the fourth overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Baltimore Orioles organization. 

Congrats to Kyle Zimmer for being the fifth overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Kansas City Royals organization.


The Yankees, with the 30th pick in the first round of the draft, select Ty Hensley. Welcome to the club Ty!



Yankees 2012 Draft Reminder


Reminder that the MLB First Year Player Draft will be televised tonight, starting at 6:00 pm ET, on MLB Network. 

CC Sabathia will be representing the Yankees on day 1. The Yankees have the 30th overall pick in the first round and have two draft picks in the second round (89th and 94th respectively). 

Yankees Draft History:

The last time the Yankees had the 30th pick they chose Andrew Brackman. The Yankees have twice had the first overall pick. They chose Ron Blomberg(1967) and Brien Taylor(1991) respectively. 



Yankees 2012 Draft : 10 Round Slot Values


Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues

The amateur draft is a little more than three weeks away right now, and we know the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has imposed strict spending restrictions that figure to change the way clubs operate. The Yankees have been allotted $4,192,200 for their eleven picks in the top ten rounds, including $1.6M for their first rounder (#30 overall). Any money in excess of $100k given to a player drafted after the tenth round counts against the draft pool as well.
The penalties for exceeding the draft pool are pretty harsh, including a tax on the overage and forfeiture of future picks. They really don’t want teams spending on amateurs, it seems. Baseball America recently published a list of slot values for the top ten rounds of the draft, which breaks down like so for the Yankees…
RoundPickSlot
130$1,600,000
289$548,400for 2011 unsigned 2nd rounder, LHP Sam Stafford
294$507,800
3124$378,000
4157$275,000
5187$205,900
6217$154,400
7247$141,000
8277$131,700
9307$125,000
10337$125,000
If a team does not sign a player, they can not use that pick’s money elsewhere. So the Yankees won’t be able to just not sign say, their fifth rounder and use that $205,900 on other players. They can game the system a little but, most notably by selecting some low-cost college seniors — they usually sign for bonuses in the $1k-$20k range — and using the savings elsewhere. If they take college seniors with their ninth and tenth rounders and pay them $25k each, they’ll have an extra $200k to spend on other players. The Yankees can also exceed their draft pool by $209,610 (5%) before the penalties kid in.
The slot values themselves are not low at all, in fact they’re actually larger than recent years (at least for the first few rounds). The problem is the restrictions and penalties; the inability to exceed slot for one player without having to skimp elsewhere. It stinks, but that’s the system they decided to put in place.

Yankees 2012 Draft : Stryker Trahan


Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues 

The 2012 amateur draft is less than two weeks away, so between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.
Stryker Trahan | C
Background
Named after a character in a Burt Reynolds movie, Trahan stars in both baseball and football for Acadiana High School in Lafayette, Louisiana. He is committed to Ole Miss.
Scouting Report
One of those “country strong” types at 6-foot-1 and 220 lbs., Trahan produces a ton of hard contact from the left side and the ball makes a different sound off his bat. He projects to hit for big power down the road but there is some concern about his propensity to swing and miss at the amateur level. His hands and arm work well behind the plate but he needs to work on his overall receiving and footwork. Trahan is athletic for his size and runs way better than the typical catcher, so he’ll be able to shift to right field if the catching thing doesn’t take. There is star potential behind the plate, however.
Miscellany
Trahan is a back-half of the first round talent and recent rankings by Keith Law (24th), Baseball America (27th), and MLB.com (28th) reflect that. They put him right in the mix for New York with their first round pick (#30 overall) and for what it’s worth, Baseball Americahad the Yankees selecting Trahan in their latest mock draft. The Yankees prioritize catching depth in the minors, specifically catchers who can hit, and Trahan is one of the two or three best offensive catchers this draft class has to offer.
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Yankees 2012 Draft : Walker Weickel


Being Borrowed from River Avenue Blues

The 2012 amateur draft starts tomorrow, so I’m going to highlight some last-minute prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.
Walker Weickel | RHP
Background
Weickel has starred for Team USA throughout his high school career and has been on the draft radar for years. He attends Olympia High School outside of Orlando and is committed to Miami.
Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 195 lbs., Weickel went through a growth spurt last year and is still figuring out how to pitch with his new frame. He usually throws his fastball in the low-90s with a power curveball in the upper-70s, but this spring he’s been more upper-80s with the heat and low-70s with the curve. He also throws a changeup. Weickel has struggled with his delivery this spring and it’s led to his declining stuff. His frame oozes projection and there’s a lot to dream on here.
Miscellany
Keith Law (#29), MLB.com (#31), and Baseball America (#37) all have Weickel in the mix for the end of the first round, which is where the Yankees pick (#30 overall). For what it’s worth, Baseball America says he’s on the team’s radar in their latest mock draft. I would prefer to see the Yankees take a player who isn’t as much of a project early on, but Weickel offers a lot of upside and would be a fine first round selection. Talent is talent, and he has a lot of it.