Written by Greg Fertel
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05 June 2008
After the somewhat surprising pick of Jeremy Bleicher in the sandwich round, the Yankees will go back to the board having fulfilled an organizational need. Hopefully, they can get back to taking the best player available. Who that is is still very much up in the air. Tim Melville will probably be the best available player, but he seems to be following the path of Matt Harvey, falling in the draft due to signability and ending up going to UNC. I wouldn't mind seeing the Yankees go after a hitter, and while there aren't any can't-miss guys left, there are plenty of intriguing high schoolers, such as Anthony Gose, Isaac Galloway, Destin Hood and Xavier Avery. There are some solid college bats available as well, including Tyler Ladendorf, Roger Kieschnick, Dennis Raben and James Darnell.
6:25: So Kyle Lobstein and Tanner Scheppers were taken with the first 2 picks of the 2nd round. Kudos to the Pirates for being willing to spend on top talent, with Alvarez and Scheppers. I would have preferred both of these guys to Bleich, and was hoping that Scheppers would fall further. Evidently, the injury was not a concern for them.
6:27: 2 toolsy high school outfielders in Xavier Avery and Anthony Gose go off the board to Baltimore and San Francisco.
6:32: The Nationals make a nice pick in Destin Hood, a high school outfielder who like Xavier Avery and Casey Kelly will have to pass up a football scholarship to sign.
6:37: The Twins pick another nice talent in junior college shortstop Tyler Ladendorf, who has put up ridiculous numbers this season (hitting over .500, stealing many bases). They have done well so far with Aaron Hicks and Shooter Hunt, though the Gutierrez pick was underwhelming.
6:48: Dennis Raben, Tyson Ross, James Darnell, and Cody Satterwhite are some of the college players who were taken recently. I'm still not sure who I'd like to see the Yankees pick here, but I wouldn't mind seeing a bat. Maybe Isaac Galloway.
6:52: The Yankees selected closer Scott Bittle of Mississippi (not Missouri). I like this pick, as he is a good bet to be an asset to the bullpen relatively soon.
6:55: The Indians took Trey Haley, one of my favorite high school pitchers, with their 2nd-rounder.
