Thoughts On The MLB Draft

Sorry, Axl, but patience is something very few Yankees fans possess.

The 2012 American League All Star team had 15 guys chosen in the 1st round of the Major League Baseball draft. Three of those 15 players were the 1st overall pick in their respective drafts (Josh Hamilton, Joe Mauer, David Price). After those 15 players, the rest of the roster was made up of players that were either signed as international free agents or picked in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 20th, and 27th rounds.

The point I'm trying to make, and one that's been said by many before me, is that the MLB draft is a crapshoot. And for that reason, I don't follow amateurs at all. I may watch some college games, but other than that I'm not sure I could tell you what school Mark Appel pitched for, let alone where he'll go in the draft (MLB.com has him as the #1 overall prospect).

That doesn't mean I look down on those that do follow the draft or the players that will be picked in it. Mike Axisa at River Avenue Blues does an excellent job of going over the top prospects in the draft. Unfortunately, although I enjoy reading the vast majority of his stuff at RAB, I have not given his articles about amateurs a second look.

So it boggles my mind that I'm sitting here on my computer, with live coverage of the draft up in one window, a list of the top 100 prospects eligible for the draft in another, and I'm writing about the draft. Daniel Burch is the prospect guy around here, so until now I figured he would take care of all the draft stuff. I guess I'm a baseball and sports fan at heart, so seeing young guys realize their dream draws me into things.

We likely won't find out how the Yankees did in the 2013 MLB draft for years to come, but I know that won't stop people from overreacting one way or the other to the players taken. It's like seeing people try to give the Yankees a "win" or a "loss" regarding the Pineda/Montero trade from last year. However, patience is a virtue that the majority of Yankees fans do not possess. And count me among the "majority".